Magic Gone Wrong!
by LucklessMallory
Summary: Tentacles, ftw! Gaara is a sorcerer who lives outside of a small town where Lee works as a smith. When Lee sits in on one of Gaara's ritual summonings, something starts to go terribly wrong... (AU, yaoi, crack, and seriously, tentacles! Co-authored with Chinesefirethorn.)
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This piece is an old RP written with myself and ChineseFireThorn , from not long after we first began writing together. It's one of the crackiest of cracks, but we hope you enjoy it! **

* * *

The room was dark, with high rafters above and thick black curtains over each window. A few specks of light fought through the cracks where the wall met the ceiling, hardly noticeable as a person's eyes adjusted to the dimness. There were sounds in the dark, hissings and bubblings of things liquid that churned. A single man with eyes shrouded in shadow murmured nonsensical words of power under his breath as he moved his hands about a small table full of ingredients.

A foul smell wafted through the air as one of the potions ripened above a spitting fire. Gaara dipped a ladle into the thick, glowing drink and poured himself a tall glass. The liquid swirled in his cup, rapidly changing colors between blue, gold, purple, and finally resting on a deep copper hue that was a tad darker than his hair. He lifted the glass high into the air to examine it properly, and prepared to take a drink with hand that shook from excitement.

Before the lip of the glass even reached his mouth, the heavy ironwood door of the room burst open with an echoing thud. Hauling in an evil looking black cauldron that spanned twice the body carrying it inside, the blacksmith Lee marched straight towards the center of the alchemy lab. He could see the tips of Gaara's red spikes from around the heavy metal, though he couldn't see much and would have stumbled around the potions and shelves if he didn't visit so often.

"Master Gaara! Your cauldron is ready!" he called out cheerfully, setting the cauldron right at Gaara's feet and jerking up quickly, only to carelessly hit the sorcerer's hand as he did with the glass' contents spilling all over him. A burst of colorful sparks erupted all over his body before he suddenly shot up a good foot higher.

Eyes comically wide, he stared down at Gaara and cracked a sheepish grin. "Um...oops?"

Gaara's hard jade eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared. His empty hands clenched in front of him as he began to growl.

"I have been brewing this potion for months, excerpting every scrap of energy I had to make sure it aged just right. I have been waiting years to find the right ingredients. Dammit, Lee! You stole my only chance at height!" Gaara turned his eyes in mourning to the potion he'd so studiously prepared. He could tell by the way the foulness of the scent was receding that the liquid was past its prime. He wouldn't grow more than half an inch if he tried drinking it now. "It's not fair! You were already tall, and now you're a giant!"

"Oh...but look at the bright side! At least it did not explode all over your home like last time," Lee said, peering over at the bubbling remains of Gaara's potions. After messing up countless other brews, he knew by now that the lack of a strong scent and the gradual fade of the potion's color meant it had lost its potency.

He bowed his head and tried to look as apologetic as he could despite towering over the sorcerer, soot-covered hand rubbing the back of his neck and leaving a gray smear there. "I am sorry, Master Gaara! Just give me a list and I promise to find those ingredients and help you reach the youthful height you wish to have!" Giving Gaara a thumbs up, he earnestly added, "Though I think you look fine the way you are."

"Sorcerer Gaara," the redhead corrected automatically. He glared up at Lee, feeling the skin of his neck and ears grow hot with envy. He'd had to look up to meet Lee's face before, but now he positively had to crane his neck! Gaara huffed and turned around. He sat down his empty glass and picked up a small vial with a green substance inside.

"Don't bother, butterfly tears are far too rare for you to find. Even if you managed to catch a crying insect, your smith hands are too rough to harvest the tears." Gaara turned back and tossed the vial to the other man. "Thank you for the cauldron. If you find yourself experiencing any side effects from the potion, drink the serum. If it feels life threatening, come see me when the candelabras I ordered are done."

Catching the vial, Lee inspected its green contents before tucking it into one of his apron pockets. "Do not worry! There is nothing that a strong will cannot overcome, and I am sure my body can handle minor side effects."

Faltering, he glanced down at himself with his rolled up protective shirt now hanging above his waist, and his pants rising above his calves. The only thing that still fit him well was the leather apron he wore when working with metals. He'd always been tall and lanky as a boy, but years working beside a forge and pummeling liquid metal into everything from kitchen utensils to weapons and armor had bulked him up and burned his skin into a warm tan. The added height only stretched the lean muscles along his arms and the cuts of his abs. "Erm, by the way, is this permanent?"

"Quite." Gaara sighed wearily and reached into his robes. He pulled out a small leather pouch heavy with coins and tossed that to Lee as well, payment for the cauldron. "You're lucky it was only a growth serum this time. Last time I specifically remember the burns I had to tend to when you walked in on my last summoning. This time all you'll need is a larger pair of shoes."

The sorcerer looked down pointedly at Lee's feet. The front of the smith's shoes had burst open to make room for his toes.

Bowing his head slightly in thanks for the payment, Lee grinned at Gaara and wiggled his toes. "It is about time for me to get a new pair anyway. Is there anything I can repair for you while I am here? I will also give you an additional discount for the candelabras for messing up your potion again." At the rate he'd been going, he'd given Gaara discounts for as long as he could remember. Though the sorcerer was his best customer with his metal tools and materials constantly needing maintenance, or for substances to be melded together in the hottest part of the forge.

He wiped his hands on the front of his apron, finding that his current height gave a fantastic new view of the redhead. Gaara had fascinated him the day he arrived at the little wayside town they lived in, since he was so different from everyone else and carried himself with such high-born dignity that even the mayor couldn't manage. He'd claimed the old abandoned mansion at the outskirts of town as his, despite the mayor trying to evict him once in a while. "How have your studies been, Wizard Gaara?"

"Sorcerer," Gaara corrected automatically. "And my studies have been rather insightful recently. I finally feel prepared for my next summoning project. I have been unable to call for anything but mere gremlins since I arrived in this town. I've finally located the spells I need to summon a proper demon, at least without sacrificing livestock."

Gaara gave the smith one last withering look of envy before turning and crossing the room. He sighed to himself, but otherwise accepted the loss of his newest potion. Lee was a good blacksmith, one of the best Gaara had met so far, and for that he could tolerate the several times that Lee had broken his concentration or made a mess of his work. Gaara lifted the book he needed from a shelf and waved a hand behind him with a soft murmur. The old potion lifted itself silently from the fire and levitated across the room before sitting against the far wall.

"Would you mind hanging the new cauldron on the spit?" the sourcerer called over his shoulder as he rummaged through a few select jars. "And be careful of the flame- it can't be put out with water."

"I am always careful! At least, when it is fire I am handling," Lee quipped good-naturedly as he carried the newly repaired cauldron and carefully hooked it on the iron base to hold it in place. "The farmers will sorely miss the business you give them, but it is good that you do not need to sacrifice any more innocent cows or sheep. Father Genivi might not even include you in his sermon this Sunday!"

He didn't know why Gaara liked to summon creatures that more often than not, turned loose on their town, but he was amazed by the magic surrounding the sorcerer, which prickled his skin when he got too close to the man and when traces of it flowed out as he worked on Gaara's tools. Business was business, but Lee liked dropping by the old mansion and witnessing wonders beyond his imagination.

A brief look of worry furrowed his brows as he thought of the damage a demon would cause on their town. Surely this time, Gaara had safety measures planned! There were enough townspeople who disapproved of Gaara's experiments. "What will you do with the demon? May I watch the summoning?"

"Having a demon under my power is something every sorcerer aims for. I've done it before, but that was years ago." Gaara turned and strode back to the new cauldron with two jars in hand and a book under his arm. He paused to raise a brow at Lee, looking him briefly up and down before nodding and setting one of the jars on a tall stool. "You can witness it, as long as you are prepared to sit still for a couple hours. I'll have to prepare a salt barrier for you, but it's a simple task."

Gaara examined the jar in his hand briefly in the fire light. Inside was a greenish goo with something floating inside that looked vaguely like hair. He hefted it once and then slammed it into his cauldron, breaking the glass. The substance splattered across the iron and began to hiss, but didn't spill over the lip of the bowl. He lifted his second jar from the stool and quickly poured that in as well, which caused a low, thick smoke to begin swirling inside.

"This Saturday, at three o'clock in the morning, sharp. You can come early, but not late." Gaara pursed his lips and squinted for a moment, before pulling out his book and opening it. "Thank you for your help today, Lee. If you wake up tonight and find that your nails or tongue have grown more than an inch in length, don't forget to drink the serum."

The blacksmith was mesmerized at the thick smoke swirling inside the cauldron, but he shook his head as Gaara thanked him. "It is no trouble at all! I am sorry again for ruining your growth potion. Next time, I will be more careful when I enter your home." Lee gave Gaara a thumbs up then patted the serum on his apron pocket in acknowledgement of his instructions.

There was still a hint of worry about Gaara summoning a demon, but it was accompanied by excitement too. Gaara was letting him sit in while he completed what he said was a major goal for all sorcerers! "I promise to do my best to sit still and avoid interrupting your summoning. I will finish your candelabras with youthful passion to get them to you before then!"

Flashing the other man a bright smile, Lee began to back out only to bump into a table and knock over a few books to the floor. He flushed and began gathering said books, clumsily hitting a mop and bucket with his lengthened arms. Leaping to his feet and gingerly setting the pile of books back on the table, he held his hands out in embarrassment and the lingering excitement he had. "Hahaha- sorry! My body is- I mean, you know. I will see you Saturday, Master Gaara! Happy brewing!"

Before he could do something worse like break another rack of potions like before, he ducked out of the double doors and headed back to his home and smithy. Maybe his neighbor could help him sew bigger clothes for him.

Gaara stared after the man for a few long seconds, wondering if he'd made the best decision about letting Lee join him. Of course, Lee wasn't usually so clumsy (most of the time) and Gaara knew that his new height would take some getting used to. The redhead sighed to himself with longing. It would take another six months before he could even hatch another artificial butterfly cocoon, and the creature inside only turned out right one out of every seventy nine times.

With a sharp turn and a snap of his fingers, Gaara signaled for a gremlin that had been hiding in the rafters to come down and help him dispose of the spoilt potion against the far wall.

* * *

Summoning a demon required the biggest space one could find, with enough room to draw the sigils of summoning, power, prison, and protection around a pentagram, and making sure that there were enough candles to give the right mood and setting to entice the demon to appear.

Said mood didn't deter Lee from shifting and squirming in the small salt-encircled area he was in as he eagerly waited for Gaara to begin. "What is the demon's name? Do demons have a voice or do they speak in your mind through some strange force?" he asked, taking in every detail that the sorcerer put into the main hall of his mansion. All those spooky stories and legends about this place that the townswomen told almost seemed true with the heavy atmosphere surrounding it. It felt as if there was a force or power seeping out from the very walls and lingering like a mist.

Lee fingered the linen trousers he'd bought the other day and tried not to let the goosebumps erupting along his neck overwhelm him. He trusted Gaara's assurance that the salt circle would protect him. Besides, the light of the candles dancing over the sorcerer's face was enough to push away the doubts he had.

"Demons speak out loud quite often, but it takes large amounts of power from either them or you in order to hear them," Gaara answered patiently as he lit the last candle around the circle. He would tell Lee to be quiet when he needed to concentrate the most, but he didn't mind the man's curiosity until then. The redhead was naturally a reclusive person and didn't enjoy talking to others often, but he'd gotten to know Lee over the years. Lee was one of the few people who didn't discriminate the sorcerer for his profession, and Gaara had learned to expect and even enjoy his company when the smith arrived with new goods or took interest in a project.

"The only time you can hear a demon's voice in your mind is if you are in danger of possession. Lee," Gaara straightened and fixed the other man with a piercing look. The fabric of his dark cloak swayed around his frame, accenting the grace of his steps as he moved inside the circle briefly. "If you begin to hear a voice in your head that does not belong to you, tell me right away. It may not be a dark voice- it can be a woman or a child or someone you know personally. It may make you promises or offer gifts, but I promise you that it would only be evil and full of lies beneath the glamour."

Gaara pulled a needle from his pocket and pierced the tip of his finger without any indication of pain. Blood, the deep and rich color of red wine began to swell from the wound. The redhead bent and smeared the liquid across the center of the pentagram, binding himself to whatever might emerge from his summoning.

The sight of blood didn't disgust Lee, having grown used to little accidents at the smithy or when he was harvesting materials. The ominous way Gaara smeared his own blood on the pentagram, however, made the blacksmith swallow thickly and sit up straighter. "Yosh, I will not succumb to dark voices no matter what they offer me," he vowed to himself, watching as the pentagram seemed to burn against the wooden floors of the mansion after receiving Gaara's blood.

It was easy enough to look at the sorcerer instead with the black cloak wrapping around the man's figure and billowing whenever a faint wind blew through the lobby. Lee wondered if Gaara was aware of what the town's ladies and girls thought about him, though he definitely didn't want the sorcerer to hear what the men had to say. Those that didn't want to drive him out of town had darker, perverse plans that thankfully never happened because of the power Gaara had.

Gaara nodded and then backed slowly out of the circle until he was standing at the edge. He looked sideways at Lee and gave the smith a small, rare smile as his eyes glimmered with devious excitement. He rubbed his palms together and took a deep breath. "Do not be too concerned, Lee. I have done this before. I will not let anything harm you. Now focus on staying quiet for a while while I begin."

Closing his eyes and relaxing his hands at his sides, the sorcerer meditated for a moment. He centered himself, focused on his goal, and began to slowly extend an arm over the lip of the circle. There was a distinctive buzz in the air, and a feeling of restlessness as Gaara began to move his lips silently. Words shaped themselves, power stemmed from their meaning, and there was a flickering of movement across the lines of the pentagram.

There wasn't anything Lee could do but nod and press his lips together, cheeks warming up and his eyes wide as the image of Gaara smiling at him with the flickering candlelight dancing on his face, burned in his mind. It wasn't just the power and the magic that drew him to the mansion. Gaara was beautiful though he'd never dared to let the sorcerer know his thoughts.

The instruction to keep silent and stay in the circle were clear. What Lee hadn't anticipated was the sudden icy chill that jolted up his spine as Gaara began to chant. He gripped his pants in alarm as he caught a flash of- of something big and dark beginning to manifest in the middle of the pentagram.

An ear-splitting pop suddenly rang in the hall, but was just as quickly dampened by a thick silence. The space inside the pentagram began to fill with black fog, inky shadows crawling across the floor to gather at the center.

The words were coming quicker now, overlapping and swirling in his mind as Gaara whispered. Images appeared behind his eyelids, displaying creatures and manifestations not of this world. Louder- he called out, a scream in the next realm that was only a murmur in the present. Dark colors shifted and he spoke quicker, moving his lips faster, chanting louder. His hands began to shake. He could feel it, the power and domination over something strong and writhing.

At the same time however... something wasn't right. He grasped, feeling beads of sweat form on his brow with effort as he searched for what he needed. He could see the demon, hear it, but... where was its name? He should have harnessed its name by now. That was what would ultimately turn the tides or not- the power of a name was infinite. But he just... couldn't... find it. Where was it? What creature could be so powerful that it could hide its name from him, after the ages he'd spent ripping it from the throats of all the creatures of darkness he could find?

In the center of the pentagram, the shape that had emerged was beginning to grow. It started as a thin fog, and slowly gained solidity and strength. There was a new pulse in the buzzing air, and something wicked was absorbing Earth's air for the first time.

Gaara gasped and his chanting stuttered. He winced as pain formed in his temples and chest. He struggled for control. _What was the creature's name?_

Inside the salt circle, Lee was crying out Gaara's name in alarm. The icy chill was now frost erupting from his scalp to his toes. He could feel the enormity of the dark power probing around the protective circle he was in; could see how Gaara faltered just as a black tendril slithered from the center of the fog past the pentagram's lines.

All of the sigils were glowing brightly around them, but as more tendrils began to emerge, they began to whip away parts of the symbols Gaara had carefully drawn with chalk and salt.

_Who calls me?_

Out of the corner of his eye, Lee caught a twisted face hanging from a looming, gleaming black trunk, tendrils rising in the air and slithering everywhere inside the pentagram. Lee bolted to his feet, whipping his head to stare at the empty space where he'd seen a monstrosity that terrified him to the very marrows of his bones.

_Come closer._

"Gaara," he called out hoarsely, his voice silenced almost at once by the sheer evil presence permeating the hall. No matter what Gaara said, this was far from the minor summonings the other had performed.

The sorcerer's lips quivered as he still struggled to chant, but it was getting harder with each new pulse in the air. He could feel his energy draining away as though something was sapping it from within. The spell that bonded him to the demonic energy was being used against him, drawing at his energy and making his blood churn. Unable to hold the pretense of chanting any longer, Gaara felt his voice emerge in a sound of pain as he slowly opened his eyes and stumbled backward.

He could hear Lee's voice, and ice shot through Gaara's core with horror as he recognized the strength in the demon that writhed within the circle of the pentagram. Long, thick tendrils curled and reached, extending beyond the confines he'd laid down. He met Lee's terrified eyes from across the circle and tried not to let the smith see how weak he had already become.

"Lee, run. Now!" Gaara's hands couldn't stop trembling as he shot spells at the places where the demon had broken free. He didn't know what power he had left, but he had to keep control! "Go back to the town!"

The flashes of magic that hit the demon only seemed to quicken the tendrils breaking free. They convulsed and shot towards Gaara, wrapping tightly around his wrists and pulling him forward towards the pentagram. More tendrils broke free of the protective barrier around the pentagram and swept Gaara's feet off the ground.

"No!" It only took the sight of Gaara being dragged across the hall for Lee to dash from the salt circle towards the sorcerer and throw his body over the other, trying to yank off the tendrils on Gaara's arms.

A roar suddenly filled Lee's mind, snapping his head back in a silent scream, eyes rolling back until only the whites showed. Around his neck, a thick ring of smoke curled around his flesh until it bulged.

_He gave his blood. He is rightfully mine._

Gaara cursed under his breath in panic, struggling internally as he still tried to grasp what he was missing. The tendrils that lifted him from the ground and gripped at his skin were cold and merciless, holding his body so tightly that he thought they were trying to break him. He could _feel_ the demon's power sapping away at his strength even now, making it hard to fight. His eyes widened in shock as he found Lee upon him, struggling to help before being overwhelmed and touched by the demon as well.

"Dammit, Lee, run!" Gaara lashed out, trying to reach for the smith, only to fall limp and panting as weariness made him dizzy. He arched his back, trying not to let a freezing tendril wrap around his chest and failing. "You're not bound, you can run!"

"I cannot leave you, Gaara!" Lee forced out despite the crushing pressure on his neck. He couldn't see anything but darkness though he could hear Gaara's muffled voice telling him to run. His hands had flown to the tendril pressed against his skin even as the rest of his body kept both of them from being pulled into the pentagram.

_He cannot hear you. This is all in your mind._

With his senses dulled, a deep, purring whispering voice now filled his awareness. It was only then that he realized that he'd been hearing it since Gaara began to chant. "Leave him alone!"

_This little one called me. He wants my power and I yearn for his ambition._

Lee's hands suddenly slid from the tendril on his neck down to Gaara's chest, sliding across it slowly until his own fingers wrapped around Gaara's chin and began to lightly stroke his face.

_Just as much as you want him. What would you give to keep me from stripping him of power and sanity until he is but an empty husk?_

Nausea clenched his stomach from the continued vice around his neck, and he felt it even more when the tendril finally loosened, forcing his vision to come back in spots. What would he give to save his friend from that fate? "Anything," he gasped out, wheezing as he caught sight of Gaara below him.

_Very well._

The binds around Gaara's wrists, chest, and ankles suddenly slid away, retreating back into the dark mass behind them before swirling in a rush around Lee and piercing his mouth, forcing his jaw to open wide as the demon took possession of the smith's body.

The sorcerer fell to the stone floor with a heavy thump of limp weight. Gaara groaned in pain, fluttering his eyelids as he struggled to understand what had just happened. The connection between himself and the demon had continued to sap his strength until he was barely conscious anymore, before it suddenly... broke. He could still feel the demonic energy in the room, but the creature's claim over him was dead. Gaara struggled, rolling his head around until he spotted Lee's feet. Rolling over on weak, shaky limbs, his breath wavered as he reached out and tried to grab the other man's ankle. Why hadn't he run?

Then Gaara could feel it- with what little power he had left, he could sense the core of the demon in the room. Gasping raggedly, Gaara screamed "Asmodeus!"

Lee's eyes shot open, the dark circles of his pupils expanding until his eyes were completely black. Slowly sitting up, he regarded Gaara with lidded eyes before his lips twisted into a grin. "Too late, little one. The smith has made his bargain." Reaching out, Lee cupped Gaara's face with calloused fingers, phantom tendrils brushing over his cheeks and neck as the man moved to kneel in front of the sorcerer. "But I will serve you as long as you have my true name. Master Gaara."

The sorcerer's eyes widened with horror and his skin crawled as he met Lee's eyes. The darkness there, deep and aching and wild as it tried to pull him in. Lee's skin was warm, but all Gaara could feel was the frost of the demon. No- this wasn't Lee. It couldn't be. Gaara grasped at the wrist near his face, struggling to pull himself up but lacking the strength. His eyelids became too heavy to bear and his body too weak to move. With a last groaning breath, the redhead surrendered to unconsciousness. His body fell limp, with only his face cradled in Lee's hands.


	2. Chapter 2

"Master Gaara?" Lee's voice called softly as a damp cloth was pressed against the sorcerer's forehead and dabbed over his skin.

A hand brushed away some of the hair from Gaara's face as Lee tried to wake Gaara up again. He'd carried Gaara to the sorcerer's bedroom by finding the only room decent enough to sleep in, and had been trying to rouse the other from unconsciousness since the sun came up. The traces of Gaara's summoning in the early hours of the day were already swept away by the sorcerer's gremlins, shocking Lee when they first showed themselves to him.

The things that happened that morning were vague, but he remembered his deal with the demon and the unwavering decision to protect Gaara at all costs. But the only thing he felt now was the need to be close to the sorcerer. "Master Gaara?" he tried again, this time gently tapping the other's cheek.

"Sorcerer," Gaara croaked in correction, turning his face away from Lee's hand with a grimace. He couldn't bring himself to drag his eyelids open quite yet, but he could feel himself beginning to wake. Gaara's body felt sluggish and disoriented, like his limbs had become detached from the rest of his body. There was a heavy threat of a headache emerging between his eyes and a grumpiness that always greeted him in the mornings. Then, as last night's events came back to the forefront of his mind in a sudden rush, Gaara gasped and jolted.

"Lee." Gaara snatched his hands toward the other man, gripping the smith by the shoulders and pulling him closer. The redhead's eyes were frantic with concern as he examined Lee's face (and pupils especially) for any signs that he wasn't himself.

Lee blinked and held still as Gaara scrutinized him, eyes wide and normal. At least, until his pupils expanded again before retreating to their normal size. The demon was showing off, a clear signal that it was inside of the blacksmith. Taking hold of Gaara's forearms, Lee gently pushed the other man back on the bed. "Please do not exert yourself! You need to rest from last night. Here, I have prepared you a healthy breakfast of boiled eggs and vegetable stew."

He gestured to the tray he'd set at the foot of the plush double poster bed, complete with a cup of water.

One other thing he realized about the possession was that he didn't feel an ounce of fatigue despite staying awake for more than twenty-four hours now. "The soup will help if your head hurts," he said, offering a smile despite the wild look in Gaara's eyes.

Swallowing thickly, Gaara's breath rasped from the sudden dryness in his throat and mouth. He stared at Lee for a few long, silent seconds before slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position. The sorcerer could still feel some shock in his body from the demon's assault last night, forcing him to move slowly to accommodate the lightheadedness. He recognized the sincere, earnest note in Lee's smile despite the chill of the demon, and he knew at least that the smith still had his sanity.

Lee had been possessed last night. Gaara was certain of that now. While Gaara had been overwhelmed by his own summoning, Lee had been taken advantage of by the demon.

"What happened?" Gaara swallowed again and licked his dry lips. He held out his hand and gripped Lee's upper arm as he leaned toward the other man, trying to understand. For an instant, he felt himself blanching at the sheer volume of muscle in the smith's bicep. "What happened last night? Why didn't you run when I called out to you?"

Lee froze as Gaara leaned towards him, his gaze darting towards the pink tongue licking Gaara's dry lips as the man's hand gripped his bare arm. He swallowed and busied himself with moving the food tray towards the sorcerer. Gaara's hand was giving off that electrifying shock of magic, and with the demon inside him, it stirred a fierce longing to be closer to its source.

"I could not leave you to face the demon alone. You were being dragged towards that thing and- and it is unthinkable for me to just run when you were in trouble!" Head lowering, he rubbed his neck where the demon's tendril had wrapped around. The deal he made with the demon haunted him, but he would have done the same again to save Gaara from a worse fate. "It told me what it wanted to do to you. How it would drain your magic and feed on your soul."

Lee raised his eyes to look at the sorcerer, thick brows furrowed in guilt. "I am sorry, Master Gaara. When you began the summoning, I was already hearing a voice like you described but I did not notice it until it was too late."

Gaara looked away and rubbed his temples with a wince. This was all his fault. He'd gotten cocky over the years and had become too comfortable with his life in this town. A true sorcerer would never have allowed himself to remain this weak over the years, instead of reaching for powerful and more damning heights. He could barely believe he'd allowed himself to be so easily taken by the demon.

There was something new in Lee's gaze that was making Gaara uncomfortable. He shifted and tried to ignore it, but it was difficult. He would have blamed the demon's influence, but Gaara thought he might have noticed snatches of this expression on Lee in the past, though never so blatant.

"Nothing is too late," Gaara murmured. He sighed and reached for the tray of food that Lee had been inching closer toward him and pulled it onto his lap. He paused for a doubtful second and flickered a glance at Lee, but lifted the cup for a thirsty drink. If the demon had wanted to poison him, it would be pointless. It could have just killed Gaara yesterday, and weakening him further was senseless while he was still bedridden. "I'm sorry, Lee. I should have known better than to let you sit in on the summoning. I promise I will make sure the demon leaves you. It has no right to stay unless you've made a deal."

Lee's face paled before he glanced away. No matter what the demon had said, he still held out hope that Gaara's magic could reverse what he did. When he turned back to face the sorcerer, his eyes were jet black and lidded, a dark force lurking behind a heavy gaze. "Then it is too late for me." He said softly before black tendrils crawled over his face, neck and arms like living tattoos, forming the mark of the demon over his body.

"I made a deal to keep you from being taken."

_We made a deal to keep me from taking you._ A whispering echo followed a milisecond after Lee's voice.

Lifting his hands, he inspected the marks with a frown. The demon was manifesting itself though its power was limited by the hold Gaara had on its name. All traces of the demon's name was wiped clean from Lee's mind, but its bond with Gaara hummed in his blood.

"It took my body as its host but it cannot do anything to harm you. It told me that as long as you have its name, we are your servants."

_I took his body as my host but I will not harm you. You have my name and our servitude._

Lee shut his eyes and willed the demon to retreat, sickened by its voice coming out of his own mouth. The tendrils on his cheeks stayed but his eyes had turned normal when he opened them, warm and earnest like they've always been. "Do not blame yourself, Master Gaara. It was my choice to make."

Gaara frowned seriously, watching the way the tendrils slithered and writhed across Lee's skin. He'd begun to suspect as much, but had been hoping he was wrong. Gaara had finally gained the power he wanted over a demon even stronger than he'd hoped, but it came at a price he hadn't wanted to make. "You are very brave, Lee. I should have given you more credit last night. It seems I owe you a debt."

Setting down his cup and lifting his spoon, Gaara hoped that the stew would help his headache, as Lee had suggested it might. He ate a few bites as he thought, and distantly recognized that it tasted quite good.

"Asmodeus," Gaara addressed for the first time, turning and looking both the smith and the demon in the eye. He used the name carefully, testing its power and his own strength. "Is it your intention to harm Lee or his body?"

The effort Lee made to hold back the demon was easily overpowered when Gaara called it by its name. He eyes blinked wide, uncontrollably turning black again as the demon took over his consciousness. A grin spread over his face as he leaned close to the sorcerer and leered.

"Master Gaara. I was wondering when you would finally call me." Lee squeezed his own biceps and chuckled. "This body is fit and used to pain. I have no intention of putting my host in danger when his body can serve yours and my purposes so well."

The demon crossed Lee's leg over the other and leaned back casually against the chair beside the bed. "Perfect for the dark deeds you have planned." He ran a finger over his chin. "And a willing participant for more pleasurable acts."

"Excuse me?" Gaara frowned deeply, but managed to refrain from glaring. He was curious about the boundaries or limits of his new 'servant', and still didn't feel like he knew who was most in control, Lee or the demon. "I should inform you that I am not as 'dark' as you'd like a master to be. I will not stand for killing humans. I only seek to gain power, not be consumed by it. I have not taken human life in years."

Gaara flickered his eyes away briefly, only to pause for a drink of his stew. The way the demon was looking at him as he mentioned 'pleasurable acts' was making him uncomfortable, in the same way Lee's gaze had a moment ago. Gaara wasn't ignorant to sexuality, specifically where wickedness could be involved, but it had been quite some time since he'd done that as well.

"I do not want to have sex with a demon. I don't even understand why the idea would occur to you."

"How unfortunate. The last sorcerer who summoned me brought a dark age to the very ends of that land's shores. We wreaked havoc and piled bodies as high as mountains." Lee shrugged and tilted his head to the side, the grin still in place. "Would you rather have me find a cure for the vilest plague? Save a village from destruction? Those will also come at a cost to this body unless a there is another way to channel the magical backlash."

The demon toyed with the upper button of Lee's shirt, which was taut against his muscled chest. "As for sex, it is not I who desires it. There is much that you do not know about your friend and I suggest you make use of our servitude to draw out his true intentions."

Now Gaara was blatantly staring at the demon, disbelieving. Lee desired him? That didn't make sense. Gaara had thought for sure that the smith was still chasing after the pink haired girl who works as a healer in the town. Even if he wasn't, the sorcerer had assumed Lee would only be interested in women. The concept of same-sex intimacies was still looked down upon in towns such as these, and discriminated against no matter where you went. Only those such as Gaara, who had given up on the possibility of saving his soul, considered it an option for themselves.

"We'll come back to that subject later," Gaara declared. "In the meantime, I don't want you acting up for some time. No killing, and no curing diseases either. Nothing that would harm Lee."

The sorcerer set down his spoon and lifted the bowl, tipping it back and drinking the last of the stew. He chewed the last pieces of onion and swallowed, sighing with some satisfaction. He felt better after getting some food in his stomach, stronger already. He was sure now that a lot of his weakness and dizziness from before had come not only from being drained last night, but also because he'd fasted for some time before the summoning. He began to peel the shell away from a boiled egg.

"Begone, Asmodeus. I want to talk to Lee again."

"As you wish Master Gaara," the demon said, lowering its head in mock obedience. Just as quickly as it had manifested, the inky tattoos faded and Lee was back in control. He straightened up from the slouch he'd been in and shook his head at the strong feeling of disorientation.

"A-Ah Master Gaara." His brows furrowed before relief and happiness filled his features. "You finished your soup! Now you are surely on the road to a quick and youthful recovery!"

Lee checked his arms for any sign of the demon and sighed when he didn't find any marks. The demon had kept him out of its conversation with Gaara and dulled his hearing, but Lee had been able to see during the exchange. It chilled him to know the demon could very well be looking through his eyes now. "I would like to stay until you are feeling better. But I will also need to get back to the forge and work soon."

"I'm feeling fine now." Gaara set the tray aside and pulled the blankets back from across his legs. He was still dressed in last night's clothing, aside from his cloak and shoes. He spotted them across the room, neatly folded. Gaara glanced at Lee from the corner of his eye as he slowly stood up. He was positive that Lee had carried him last night, and had probably made the sorcerer's breakfast himself. "I should be asking how you are feeling. You've gotten less sleep than I have. You missed church this morning, as well."

Gaara took a small bite of the egg in his hand and chewed thoughtfully. Lee was his responsibility now. He still wasn't entirely sure what had prompted Lee to go through with what he did, but Gaara knew that it would never have happened if he hadn't been so careless and put the smith in such danger. He spoke out loud, more to himself than Lee between small bites. "You'll have to pick out a room in the mansion. I can have the gremlins move your things from wherever you're staying now."

Lee's cheeks flushed at the concern Gaara was showing and he rubbed the back of his head with a grin. "That is not necessary Master Gaara. I did not sleep at all and I feel as energetic as ever! The demon must be giving me strength while it is inside me." He glanced out the window, realizing the sun was already high up in the sky. Father Genivi tolerated lateness even less than he did absences.

"I can be here in two minutes if you need me. You do not need to give me one of the mansion's rooms," he added, trying to ignore the desire to say yes and be close to the sorcerer. The demon was making it harder to repress some of the things he had shamefully imagined and dreamed about.

"With or without a room, you are going to be spending a lot more time here." Gaara sighed and put a hand on Lee's shoulder, gesturing for him to stand and follow. "I want to keep you close and make sure that the demon behaves. I am going to train you a bit on matters of magic, so that you aren't completely overwhelmed when something happens. Giving you a room will just make this easier for both of us."

Following Gaara's lead, Lee got to his feet and glanced down at the redhead. Maybe Gaara did need that growth potion. Their height difference was enough that if he'd picked the sorcerer up by his hips, it would be easy to slam him against a wall with Gaara helpless to do anything but thrust down against his dick.

Lee's eyes were wide as he whipped his face back to stare straight ahead in alarm. He had no right to imagine Gaara in that position! Or...or in any of the positions that flipped through his mind's eye just then! Someone with such power had no place kneeling on the ground and sucking on his cock like sweets against his tongue. The smith was bright red as he struggled to follow after Gaara out of the room and down the hall. He could hear a distant laughter that gave light to the source of his thoughts. Knowing this did little to quell the hot pulse between his legs.

"I-If it will give you more control over the demon then I will move in at once!" he gritted out with a smile as he did his best not to think at all. "Even the smallest room will do, though I will need a place to make a hearth and space to forge."

"That will not be a problem." Gaara was oblivious to Lee's dirty thoughts, keeping his eyes ahead as he walked through the halls of his home. When he peered at the smith from the corner of his ringed eyes however, he could feel something in the way Lee was looking at him again, even if Lee was trying to hide it by smiling. Gaara remembered what the demon had told him, and felt himself swallow thickly. He slowed his steps as they approached a set of large doors that led to a garden at the side of the mansion.

"Please finish today's work soon and come back to me. I'll send the gremlins in a couple hours, so that you have time to do what you need to and made explanations to people you know." Gaara winced as he stepped outside and the sunlight hurt his eyes. He spent too much time indoors brewing, practicing, and reading in dim light. He turned to Lee and took the smith's wrist in hand. "Be careful. Some people can feel a demon's presence, even if they don't know what it is. It frightens them. You might find yourself scaring a few people today who were your friends yesterday." Gaara knew that feeling too well himself. He squeezed Lee's wrist in support, feeling a small camaraderie to the other man.

The fresh smell of the wild garden thriving around the mansion was enough for Lee to accept that his possession wasn't the end of all things good. The dirty images in his mind receded under the bright sunlight.

When Gaara caught his wrist, Lee started at the contact and listened to the solemn warning with the sorcerer's magic humming between them. "I promise to be careful and come back to you," he vowed as the weight of Gaara's words sunk in. Too often he'd heard about how the sorcerer Gaara embodied evil and how the devil would take all who befriended him. He was possessed as a result of his curiosity, but he still believed in the redhead's good intentions whatever means he did to achieve them.

Lips pulling into a cheeky smile, Lee squeezed Gaara's wrist back. "Do not worry too much about me, Wizard Gaara. Surviving the spells I ruined is much more difficult than getting through one day in our town. My stealth is excellent." Pulling away, he waved at the sorcerer and set out through the garden path, making sure to avoid the hostile plants born out of earlier experiments.

"Sorcerer Gaara," the redhead muttered under his breath halfheartedly. He watched Lee go until the man moved past a row of trees and out of sight, before turning back into his house. He returned to the hall where his bedroom lay, and prepared for the day in his own ways. The static of his magic was making his hair stick up again, but he didn't smooth it away.

* * *

"_What _is_ that_?"

There were over a dozen gremlins in the center of the mansion's ballroom, all of which were struggling to carry something heavy of Lee's to the smith's new room. Gremlins, a servient creature to those with control over magic, ranged in size from about 6 inches to 2 feet tall. Their limbs were skinny, and their bodies fairly round, and slick like a lizard's. They had two wide rows of sharp teeth, squinty eyes, snub noses, and pointy little ears. All the little green creatures looked half dead with exhaustion, and were throwing themselves about as they struggled to keep working, when all they seemed to want to do was collapse. How they'd managed to carry the anvil through town and up the mansion's hill was completely beyond the sorcerer. Gaara bent down and lifted one of the smaller gremlins up by the back of its neck, frowning when all it did was whine and fall limp in his hold.

Following after the gremlins, Lee grinned brightly at Gaara as he overtook the gremlins carrying his anvil and set the bags of coal on the mansion's floor. Lee puffed his chest out as he presented the heavy iron monstrosity. "This is the pride of my smithy, the anvil of my father's father's father! Is it not a beauty?"

Around it, the gremlins groaned in high pitched voices as they continued to move it towards the place Lee would be working in. As the only place big enough and able to release fumes, the ballroom had a hearth that Lee could turn into a heated oven big enough for his commissions. The other end had already been cleaned out by the gremlins and a bed from the upper rooms placed there for Lee's use. Amusingly enough, one of the candelabras Lee made for Gaara had been placed at a side table beside the bed.

"Wow! This is even bigger than the cathedral! Thank you, Master Gaara! I will definitely be able to work here." Lee turned his grin from Gaara to the gremlins. Taking hold of the base, he sped up their progress as he carried most of the weight all the way to the hearth. "Well done my little friends! Do not forget to bring the grinding stone and hammers from my home!"

Gaara observed Lee's enthusiasm from a distance, wondering in the back of his mind how much of it was sincere. Lee was a very bright, happy person by nature, but how optimistic could he truly remain in his situation? How long would it last? "I may have to summon a few more to replace the gremlins that are exhausted. They'll have the last of your things here by nightfall."

Following after the smith, Gaara dodged gremlins and tools lying around his feet. He stepped up to the wall beside the hearth and leaned back against it. He feigned nonchalance as he flicked his fingers, playing with multicolored sparks of power between his hands. He didn't look up as he spoke to Lee, but he was attentive in his peripheral. "I have been meaning to ask you a question, Lee. I have been wondering since the summoning. When things went wrong and I shouted for you to run, your first instinct was to come to my aide instead. When the demon told you what he would do to me, you traded away your life for mine. I have known you for years now, but I was not aware that we were close enough to die for one another. What made you do it, really?"

Lee was tidying up the tools lying around, gathering chisels of different sizes and setting up his workstation as Gaara addressed him. The line of thought Gaara was coming to had the smith stiffening over the large anvil. He laid out his tools one by one as he glanced at the sorcerer, caught unaware by the question. What could he say? The whole truth was something he couldn't even admit to himself yet, though he was severely reminded of it constantly after his possession. "Master Gaara... I truly want you to be safe. It is nothing like what you are thinking- I do not presume to be close to you and would never want you to die for me! But I do hope you think of me as your friend."

He placed his hands on the anvil and put his weight on them as he turned his full attention to Gaara and the sparks on his fingers. He adored Gaara's magic and the mystery shrouding the sorcerer. The fact that he felt something beyond fascination for the man himself all the way down to carnal urges left him grasping at what his body desired and the possibility of Gaara banishing him from ever seeing him again.

"I think you are too amazing to be hurt by a demon," Lee admitted honestly, cheeks warm as his words came too close to the truth. "You are nothing like the people in our town or anything like what they say you are." Rubbing the back of his neck, he cleared his throat and tried to cover his embarrassment with a smile. "Anyway, the demon does not stop me from working, though some people did act strangely around me."

"Is that all, then?" Gaara smiled wryly as he looked at the smith. He'd already had some semblance of Lee's fascination, after the interest in his work that Lee had shown over the years. He still wasn't convinced that Lee was telling the whole truth, however. "It makes sense that it would let you work. The demon wants you for the strength of your body, and working the forge helps maintain it."

The sorcerer stopped amusing himself with sparks and looked Lee up and down, slowly. He tilted his head, considering the thickness of the other man's muscles and the effect of his new height. A wicked idea came to mind. "When you can take a moment from organizing your tools, I'd like to examine you physically. It's the same thing as when you visit your healer and she looks you over, but my power lets me see things that she can't."

What had been a light flush turned dark red as Lee's eyes bulged. He wasn't embarrassed about his body, even though he had a lot of scars and burns from the smithy. The problem was the uncontrollable bouts of horniness caused by the demon playing with his desires and thoughts and twisting what Gaara said to mean, 'Strip down and let me run my hands all over your body.'

"Is that necessary, Master Gaara? Miss Sakura was very thorough when I had my last check-up, and I do not feel any different since last night," he said, mouth drying at the thought of Gaara examining him up close. Moving around the anvil, he removed his leather apron and laid it over the cold hearth- a tradition of his family before lighting the first coals. It left him dressed down in rolled up work trousers and a patched up shirt, obviously with a different kind of cloth added to the ends to accommodate Lee's new body.

"Besides, I cannot organize everything until the rest of my things are here," he pointed out, hoping it would discourage Gaara. Lee had absolutely no clue about what Gaara had planned even if the demon was supplying him with various ways he could make Gaara feel how healthy his body was.

"Since your last check-up, you've grown twelve inches in height and accepted a demonic parasite into your body. I think that calls for another exam." Gaara lifted his eyes to the door, spotting a handful of gremlins appearing with a trunk of Lee's things. "I can wait for you to finish unpacking tonight. I'm in no hurry."

The sorcerer allowed a small smile as he straightened from the wall and looked sideways at Lee. Divination had never been his strong suit, but he could already tell that living in the same house as the smith was going to be entertaining, if nothing else. Lee was the person he got along best with in the town, and the sorcerer had been alone for a long time. He turned and began walking toward the side door, which would take him down a hallway and up to the tower. "I'll summon those last few gremlins for you and then find something to eat. Take your time until I get back."

Gaara had given very good reasons and Lee could only inhale and nod at the sorcerer as the man smiled and passed him. "Yosh! Then I will do my best to organize everything as soon as I can." He watched the sorcerer leave through the side door, then let out a breath in a rush when he thought Gaara was out of earshot. "Stupid demon!"

The gremlins bringing in his things were less exhausted than the ones who brought in his anvil, but they still whined at him when they finally brought in the large grinding stone. Guiding and setting everything into place, he ran a hand through his hair and tried to quell the feeling that he was bound to do something that would forever humiliate him in Gaara's eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Lee stood by the bed provided for him in the ballroom, and kept his eyes firmly locked onto the dusty gilded ceiling. He could believe that Gaara was the true owner of the mansion with the sculptures of demons and paintings of arcane symbols filling the ceiling, with a surprisingly beautiful frame of gold foil.

Of course, it still didn't take away the fact that he was stripping for Gaara. Unhooking the last of his shirt buttons, he cleared his throat as the fabric fell away to reveal a toned and tanned chest, burn marks marring one side of his abs and a network of scars erupting from his shoulder down to his chest. "Can you examine me with my pants on?" he asked weakly as one of the remaining gremlins who'd stayed snickered in a high pitched voice. Apparently, the little creatures were taking their revenge on him by sadistically staying through the whole examination process.

"I do not think you will find anything different below my waist other than that my legs are longer. I should know, it is my body!" There was a slight manic edge to his voice as he could practically feel Gaara's gaze on his bare chest as he shrugged off his shirt.

"You can keep your pants on for now," Gaara consented, trying not to roll his eyes or smirk. Was that because he was attracted to Gaara after all? Or the opposite?

"I suppose this will be my first opportunity to teach you about different methods of magic, as well." Gaara rubbed his hands together briefly and felt the edge of energy make his hair stick up with static again. He took Lee's right hand and lifted it palm up, furrowing his brow as he studied the lines there, deciphering their meaning. "First of all, there is never one specific way that a person can or cannot use magic. You've seen me mix potions before- that is one method. The art of summoning is its own subject, as well as spell casting, divination, quite a few others. What I am about to do for you is very physical kind of magic, that you can learn to do with practice as well."

The sorcerer dropped Lee's hand, satisfied for now with what he'd read. He pushed against Lee's chest, making the smith sit on the edge of his bed. He held the man in place with a hand on his shoulder, and placed his right hand in the middle of Lee's chest. He could feel the rough hairs and scars under his palm, but kept the interest they made him feel to himself. Gaara closed his eyes and probed his power past his fingertips, feeling the beat of Lee's heart and the strong tide of his breaths for a moment as if they were his own.

The touch of Gaara's hand against his own brought his gaze down to the redhead, a hot breath leaving his lips as magic coursed between them. Thankfully it didn't encourage anything more than a flush crawling up his neck. "How will I know that I am performing magic?" he asked, letting Gaara push him back to the bed. Looking up at Gaara, he noted how green the man's eyes were even with the dim lighting in the ballroom. They were catlike, narrow and seemed to hold so many secrets. _And many promises,_ a voice whispered to him.

He held still as both of Gaara's hands rested against his skin. Suddenly he could feel a small surge of power connecting them, could feel the sorcerer's breath synchronize with his. For a moment, he just felt peace and a oneness with the sorcerer, before the demon's tendrils entwined with that connection. Lee shut his eyes as he reached out and gently clasped the hand on his shoulder, trying to draw strength so he wouldn't lose consciousness to the demon once again.

Gaara frowned, feeling the darkness of the demon's tendrils as well. They were heavy, dragging on Lee's willpower and threatening control. Lee was stronger however, and Gaara recognized that with a small note of respect. Gaara probed deeper, tasting the marrow of Lee's bones and the intricate texture of his muscles.

"You have the heart of an ox," Gaara reported in a small murmur, keeping his eyes closed. He slid his hand lower, feeling the energy in Lee's liver, abs, and stomach. He tilted his head a fraction, feeling the way the blood rushed in a steady, strong circuit of his body. The sorcerer gave a light exhale, enjoying the peace in the powerful, healthy simplicity of Lee's body as he felt it in his own. "No wonder the demon wanted you."

Gaara's words elicited a rush of pride despite how factual and simple the sorcerer said them. Out of all the animals, Lee could identify with the stubborn, strong and willful ox. The muscles of his abdomen and stomach fluttered as Gaara's hands moved over them. The magic probing him felt nothing like the demon's cold touch, but more like a flickering mild force flowing from one part of his body to another.

Unconsciously, his hand had moved higher up Gaara's hand to rest on his inner upper arm. "It is nothing compared to yours," he murmured, legs twitching when Gaara's hand grazed over the trail of pubic hair sprouting from just below his navel and cut off by the hem of his trousers. "Everything about you is beyond anything I have ever seen or imagined. And you do not turn me away even when I make a fool of myself."

His eyes opened slightly, peeking at Gaara's face to find the other at a rare calm state. Lips pulling into a small grin, he couldn't help thinking how attractive the sorcerer was with his constantly static-spiked hair and the dark rings of his eyes. The townswomen were pretty in their own way, but they paled in comparison to Gaara.

"I try to never turn away people with pure intentions." Gaara slid his hand slowly back up the center of Lee's torso before releasing their connection with a slow, deep intake of breath. He blinked quickly as he opened his eyes and came back to his own body. He caught Lee's eye and allowed a smirk. He clasped Lee's hand on his arm and squeezed approvingly as he began to straighten. "Your organs are very healthy. They expanded a bit to accommodate your new height, but they grew well. It was a good potion. The demon hasn't seemed to made a negative effect on your body, but that could change over time as you learn to channel it's energy. Then again, it might never be a problem either."

Gaara had ignored Lee's earlier question when he'd begun to concentrate, but he answered it now. "You'll know when you are performing magic because I will teach you to recognize it. People exchange energy every day in small ways, and have more senses than can honestly be counted. Magic is just a matter of heightening those senses and increasing that energy." Gaara squeezed Lee's hand again and rubbed the skin of his knuckles as he spoke. "The physical energy in a person's body- such as what I just used- is channeled strongest in a person's hands. That is why exchanging touches with other people can feel so strong."

The sorcerer thought briefly back to his own training with a slight downward quirk of his lips. His master had waited two years before teaching him that much. Most teachings of this sort were done gradually over time, conveying an entire lifestyle through practice and discipline. Lee's possession was an emergency, however.

As the connection ebbed away, Lee swallowed at the tinge of need he felt just then. If it wasn't for Gaara smirking at him and looking him in the eye, he was sure that he'd have asked the other to keep the connection between them. A part of it was from the demon gravitating towards Gaara's magic, but it was also the closest he had ever gotten to his friend. "Thank you. I try very hard to eat healthy and take good care of my body," he said, breath hitching when Gaara squeezed his hand again and rubbed at his knuckles.

While Gaara seemed to reflect internally for a moment, Lee thought about the last thing Gaara said. "So that is why just touching you feels like a burst of energy. I have always wondered why there is so much sensation in my hands when I touch you, but I cannot feel anything with other people. If I am to learn this kind of magic, will I also be able to send out energy or do what we just did?" he observed, looking down at their joint hands and turning his palm around so that he was clasping Gaara's then cupping it as well with his other hand. The smith's palms were rough and calloused from the work he did, but he could distinctly feel the sparks practically surrounding Gaara's skin. In contrast, Gaara's hands were smooth and long- truly the hands of a researcher of arts. Idly, Lee began to run his thumbs firmly down Gaara's palm, massaging it like he usually did his own hands when he was tired.

"The demon spoke to me about how it would use my body to carry out any of your orders. When you say I will learn to channel its energy, do you mean I will also be the one consciously performing whatever you ask of it?" While he trusted Gaara's intentions, he was also well aware that sometimes magic required offerings of blood and even the sacrifice of innocents.

"That depends on a number of variables." Gaara tilted his head and watched the way Lee rubbed his fingers over the sorcerer's hand. The smith knew how to relax the tendons and encourage the blood flow in his fingers. Gaara hummed briefly, enjoying the feeling. "When I say that you can channel the demon's energy, I am not talking about anytime in the near future. Don't try anytime soon. Handling a force that corrupt and powerful is something that takes years of practice, and your demon is more powerful than most. I'm going to try teaching you much more basic things before that, such as physical magic to heal."

Gaara used his free hand to touch his face as he thought about the demon's servitude that Lee mentioned. Having Lee involved made things more complicated than if the summoning had happened the way he'd originally attempted. "I will not lie to you, Lee; there are going to be times that I call to the demon and you will not be aware of what is happening or why. If I need a task performed that you are capable of handling yourself, I will ask you to perform it directly. However, most of the time that will not be the case."

The sorcerer ran a hand through his red hair briefly, making the static electricity there crackle. He sighed and looked away for a few seconds. "I have goals and ambitions that extend beyond this town, you know. I wish I could say that I won't use you to meet my ends, but I can't. I have control of the demon, but only through your body."

Lee smiled at the thought of doing magic. It was better to remain optimistic than to dwell on the consequences of his deal with the demon. "You may have a hard time teaching me," he teased, moving up Gaara's hand to knead on his wrist and arm. He doubted the sorcerer ever had time to do this for himself with the way Gaara always seemed occupied with a book or poring over his next potion. Since the redhead wasn't objecting to the contact, Lee freely enjoyed the permission to do this for him. "I can make you the most intricate of blades with a hilt welded with precious gems, but I am more likely to cause something to blow up like I usually do. I understand that you need to call on the demon. I will do my best not to let it overpower me when you do not need its power."

Looking up at the sorcerer's face, Lee recognized the far away look of one who dreamt big. It was one of the things he admired about the other man. "You always did aim for higher goals, Master Gaara. Since the time you came to this town, I have witnessed you continue to strive hard in your studies and spells. I am very proud to have known someone with your persistence and hard work!" He grinned at the sorcerer, stilling his hands for a moment as he looked up with obvious adoration.

"I used to believe I would become a knight one day and win some great battle in a far off land. But when I took up my father's trade, I decided that I would be the greatest blacksmith this kingdom has ever seen. If you decide to leave the town, please consider letting me come with you to see the world. There is much I still need to know before I can perfect my craft."

Gaara examined Lee's smile for a moment, tilting his head before returning it with a wry upturn of his own mouth as well. Lee was a good, strong soul. He was resilient. Gaara wouldn't need to tip-toe around him as he might have had to do with a more sensitive or weak individual. He nodded in approval of Lee's words. When Lee's thumbs massaged the tendons and cartilage in his wrist, the redhead gave a small sigh of appreciation as it drained the stressed lymph nodes.

"If you were to move away from the town with me, wouldn't Sakura miss you? I thought you were attempting to woo her."

Lee blinked at the sudden turn of their conversation before his cheeks turned pink at recalling how crazy he'd been for the town healer before. "Th-That was a long time ago already! She and I are just good friends. And...she has always been infatuated with the mayor's son," he stammered, slapping a hand on his forehead in mortification. Gaara had definitely borne the brunt of his non-stop praising of Sakura back when he'd still been in love with her. Looking back, the sorcerer had been more than patient with him. Well, unless he'd simply tuned Lee out.

"Miss Sakura has her own dreams to fulfill. I will not stand in her way," he said, rubbing the back of his neck with his gaze turned towards his makeshift smithy in the hall. It was actually a jarring wake-up call when he'd admitted he could never be the man Sakura needed. But he was happy for the healer and wished her well wherever her future took her. Finally letting go of Gaara's arm, he sat back against his bed and rubbed a sore spot on his shoulder from his work that morning.

"What about you, Master Gaara? You have never talked about what your life was like before the town. Was there anyone special to you?" He asked, willing away the blush from his cheeks as he steered the conversation away from himself.

Gaara felt his brows raise when he understood that Lee was no longer pursuing the pink haired healer in town. Lee had never mentioned it whenever he'd finally given up on her. Or perhaps Gaara should have suspected as much when Lee finally stopped raving about the girl every time they saw each other. The sorcerer tucked that piece of information in the back of his mind for later and payed attention to Lee's new change in conversation.

"I have had lovers," the redhead answered thoughtfully. He flexed the hand that Lee had worked on as he spoke, noticing the clear difference he felt in each side of his body. Lee had a talent. "I avoided contact with others during my years of training so that I could focus on developing my power. When I ventured out on my own however, I indulged with some of the more... interesting people I met. It was purely passion. The closest I ever came to an emotional attachment was when I partnered with another sorcerer. His ambitions were different from mine however, so we parted as friends and went our separate ways."

Gaara extended his senses outside the mansion briefly, tasting the air and feeling the darkness in the sky. "It is getting late now. I still have a few tasks left in the tower before I can sleep. If you need anything tonight, you can send a gremlin or find me."

"Alright, Master Gaara. I hope you will get a restful sleep tonight and have youthful dreams." Lee smiled, giving Gaara a thumbs up. Learning that Gaara had had many lovers wasn't surprising in this day, especially with the sorcerer outside of the church's influence. It still gave him something to digest just as any piece of information Gaara ever shared about himself. The redhead really was an enigmatic mystery.

"Thank you for speaking with me and letting me stay here! Perhaps these circumstances were meant to happen and will lead to a greater good." His eyes crinkled as the gremlins who'd been listening in on them began filing out with tired yawns. "Goodnight, Master Gaara."

The sorcerer nodded and turned away. Today had been productive for the both of them. Lee's possession had been a dramatic and life changing turn of events for both him and Gaara, but the sorcerer was content for now that they were in the right direction for handling the situation. Now that Lee was settled into the mansion and warmed up to the concept of having magic in his life, Gaara was going to do some research on how best to use a demon in Asmodeus' position.


	4. Chapter 4 (NSFW!)

**AN: This chapter is Not Safe For Work!**

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As the days slowly passed, Gaara threw himself into his research, finding new challenges with which to test his power and the demon's. On the third day of Lee's possession, Gaara called to the demon and went with him in search of griffin feathers. Griffins were extremely rare beasts, and could sense a person's intentions from over a mile away, which made them nearly impossible to approach. The demon had gotten Gaara close with ease, and even helped him find the nest. It had been so easy it was almost boring.

On the sixth day after Lee's possession, Gaara had something else in mind. In his tower he called upon the demon to give him enough power to convert a handful of Lee's coals into precious elements, and then had begun brewing potions from the ingredients that were worth more than half a kingdom's treasury. He'd drawn on the demon's power for that as well, eyes gleaming in mean delight the whole while. With his new power, he could channel miracles or disasters from almost nothing.

Now he was approaching the ballroom. His hair was sticking out around his head in thick bouts of static from today's spells. Lee was working this time of day in the forge. Gaara was about to take a walk into town to sell a few minor poultices, but thought he should check on Lee before he left.

The hearth was at full blast with the ballroom at a near stifling heat. Lee kept the drapes closed to let him properly gauge the metal being heated. A dull clanging noise followed with each hammering blow on the orange-yellow steel laid out on the anvil. The smith had a thick scarf over his mouth as fire gleamed in his eyes. Despite having moved to Gaara's mansion, he'd still managed to get commissions by taking quick trips to town. Those who didn't avoid him continued to avail of the services he provided.

At the sound of Gaara's footsteps echoing in the ballroom, Lee craned his neck towards the sorcerer, eyes crinkling in happiness despite the cloth covering whatever smile he wore. Turning his attention back to the heated metal, he carefully tipped the edge of the ridged plates over the narrow part of his anvil then drove carefully executed blows on the sides to form tiny hooks.

Satisfied with his work, Lee doused the steel plates in cold water then slid the scarf down his chin. "Master Gaara! Let me just finish up before the metal cools completely and I will get to you as soon as I can!"

Gaara nodded silently in affirmation of Lee's words, not wanting to have to shout his reply over the roar of the hearth. He'd been standing not too far from the smith, at a distance just safe enough to avoid the sparks of metal. He'd been admiring the sureness in Lee's blows and the powerful way his body flexed as he worked.

During the next few minutes while Lee worked, the sorcerer began to sweat from the heat of the fire. He tugged at his collar, breathing a little heavier than usual. It was like standing in an oven while Lee worked! The air around some of the metals was so hot that it blurred like a mirage. Gaara stripped off his long black cloak and tossed it behind him. It barely helped, so he unbuttoned his shirt and slid that off his shoulders as well, tossing it on top of his cloak with a sigh of relief. He wiped the sweat from his brow and continued to watch the smith, enjoying the heat on his skin now rather than being overwhelmed by it.

Fishing out the plates from the water, Lee gave it a once over before he carefully hooked the ends of it to another piece he'd made earlier, forming an even line of protective scales fit to dress a warhorse. He carried it on one end with his tongs and hooked it on the wall beside the hearth, wiping the sweat from his brow with his sleeved arm as he stepped back and nodded at his handiwork. There were a lot of things he could have improved on when bending and upsetting metal, but he was getting better with more intricate commissions.

"Yosh! Did you need me for a...a-" Mouth agape and eyes widened to their full roundness, Lee turned around to find a sight that caused his whole body to burn hotter than any hearth. Gaara stood there with his cloak and shirt off, hair blazing red with sparks of gold drifting in the air between them and making him look for all the world like a god of fire sent down to punish or bestow favor on him. He'd seen plenty of shirtless men before but never one whose skin was so unblemished and pale, not even a strand of chest hair in sight. Gaara's eyes held such intensity they looked like embers. If his father had been right in praying to a god of hearth and iron, Lee would gladly lay his hammer and chisel at his altar if the smith's patron looked anything like the sorcerer.

A gutteral moan stuck in his throat as he stepped back and tugged on his scarf, seeking respite from the heat in the room and from that building in his body. His eyes darted from one inch of flawless skin to another unbidden as he heard the demon whisper about how long Gaara had last had sex. The man would arch beautifully against his anvil, soot dusting his shoulders while he pounded into him like a hammer on steel. Shuddering, his eyes darkened at the thoughts he was having before he forced himself to speak. "What...what did you want, Master Gaara? Did you need something forged?"

This was bad! It had been easy to ignore the lust amplified by the demon during those first few days of possession, but the onslaught was taking its toll on the smith. Add to the fact that Gaara seemed to be enjoying whenever he grew flustered, with those side glances and faint smiles.

Gaara moved closer now that Lee was obviously at a stopping place with his work. The fire in the hearth was more huge than he'd ever seen it before Lee had taken over. He gazed at it briefly, mesmerized by the ever climbing, hungry, licking flames. It was quite beautiful.

"I was going to make a trip into town," Gaara said as he stepped around Lee's anvil. He wiped at his brow again. Losing his shirt had helped, but it was still very hot in here, making him sweat heavily. He thought he could feel trails of it dripping down his neck. Steam from the bowls of water clung to his skin, making him feel too moist and sticky. Gaara craned his neck to look up at the smith. "Is there anything you need from me before I go? Anything you want?"

What was a simple question sounded dangerously like an invitation to Lee's ears, his mouth drying as their eyes met. Gaara's skin glistened, sweat shining on his temples and neck, and dripping down his chest; and Lee wanted to touch him again and see if Gaara was truly as indifferent to his desires as he let on. _You will never know until you act._

"You." The sound of his voice snapped the restraint he had on himself, the huskiness in his tone filled with the need he'd been reigning in all this time. On his skin, the demon's marks began to crawl out and twist around his arms. It was too late to take back what he said, but he wanted, needed to boldly lean over his heated anvil and finally admit he desired Gaara. The heat of the forge blew across his skin as he breathed out heavily. "I want you."

He took a step forward, then another, his eyes only looking at the sorcerer as the demon whispered for him to give in to his thoughts.

Gaara gulped and his eyes flashed wider as he registered what Lee had said, and recognized the look in his eyes. The intensity with which Lee was staring at him was enough to make the sorcerer's stomach churn. When Lee began walking towards him, Gaara was almost tempted to take a step back. Something had gotten into the smith, and it was evident in the sudden rush of furtive energy that Gaara could feel in the air, and see in the slithering of the demon across Lee's skin.

"You want... me," Gaara stated slowly, holding his ground. He licked his lips and felt his breath shudder briefly. It was so hot in here. It was getting worse with each inch closer the possessed man came to him, like he was a second source of the heat. Gaara leaned his head to the side slowly. "How do you want me?"

The slow tilt of Gaara's head bared the curve of his neck. Lee's gaze latched onto the stretch of flesh hungrily as he continued to move forward. The fact that Gaara showed no signs of disgust or worse, only fueled his confidence to reach out and clasp Gaara's bare arm. When he was standing close enough that their hips met, Lee uttered a small, needy grunt in frustration. The sorcerer could see what he did to Lee, and he was still making him describe what he wanted! "Gaara," he growled, clasping Gaara's other arm then thrusting his hips forward to let the other feel the bulge of his pants.

"Tell me to stop and I will. Say no and I will not touch you again. But do not tease me," he ground out, eyes flickering black.

The sorcerer inhaled sharply and his eyes flashed at Lee's sudden boldness. The smith was always so polite and earnest when he interacted with other people, Gaara hadn't expected this at all. He could feel the press of solid flesh at his hip and feel the longing in the way Lee gripped him. Gaara knew that flashes of the demon were peering through, threatening Lee's control or encouraging the smith's urges, but the fact that Lee was asking first meant that he was still the one calling the shots in his body. Gaara shuddered and felt his chest tighten with anticipation. He licked his lips again as the heat in the room seemed to dry them.

"I'm not telling you to stop." Gaara lifted his arms halfway to touch the smith's sides in return. He broke eye contact and leaned forward to touch his lips to where the low hem of Lee's shirt exposed his collarbone. The skin there was dark and tan, salty with sweat. He murmured, "Stop holding back. You've been doing it for a long time."

The light kiss to his neck, almost sweet if it hadn't sparked a hot flush, softened Lee's features for a moment before he pulled Gaara against him tightly and bowed his head to capture Gaara's mouth hungrily. His hands roamed over Gaara's body from behind, one sliding up the sorcerer's neck to latch onto his hair and tug back so he could suck and nibble on his lips. His other hand squeezed a fleshy hip before suddenly yanking on Gaara's pants. The tight leather only snapped against Gaara's ass but didn't even budge.

Lee broke the assault on Gaara's mouth to stare furiously at the stubborn pants, before the inky tendrils on his arms quivered and a black mass shot from his arms in a dozen thick shiny tentacles. He stepped towards the redhead again with the tentacles arching in the air and looming over his shoulders at the sorcerer. "Master Gaara," he murmured, panting already from kissing the other man.

The sorcerer's eyes widened and his jaw dropped briefly in surprise. His lips were tingling from the force of Lee's kiss, and his heart was racing from having the smith's hot, rough hands on his skin. When they broke apart and Gaara saw the tentacles writhing from Lee's arms however, he blanched. Was this what the demon had in mind when he said that he would be willing during any 'pleasurable acts'? He was letting Lee use his power to amplify both the desire and the power in his body? The potential made Gaara's mouth water and his gut twist. He wiped away the sweat that was dragging down his temple and flushed skin, but it didn't help. It was so hot in here. So much fire, so much heat. Gaara shuddered and felt a small groan in his throat.

"What are you waiting for, Lee?"

"Nothing. Not anymore," Lee said before reaching out for the large bowl of water beside the anvil and throwing it over the heated metal. As steam rose in the room, he made quick work of his own clothes, throwing the apron carelessly aside and the tentacles bursting his shirt open and ripping it from his body. His trousers and underwear followed, falling to a heap on the floor. What Gaara hadn't seen the day he examined Lee were muscled thighs and a thick cock nestled against dark curls. From the size of it, the growth potion did more than make Lee tall.

Cock springing erect, Lee palmed himself and stroked his length with a hiss, eyes lidded as he took in the sight of the redhead. There was a fresh bruise on the left side of his rib that he ignored as he placed his hands on Gaara's waist and hoisted him up on the cooling anvil, tentacles slithering and coiling up the sorcerer's ankles.

The smith nibbled along Gaara's jaw, lapping at the sweat on his skin as his tentacles peeled and pushed tightly against Gaara's pants, higher and higher until they reached the seat of his ass, darting between his thighs to rub and tease against his crotch. The smooth, slippery limbs were cool against the sorcerer's heated skin.

"_Ah_-" Gaara gasped sharply and clung to Lee's shoulders as the smith handled him. He groaned briefly, throat rumbling against Lee's mouth as the sorcerer squirmed on the anvil. The tentacles had held a visual hint of the demon. They almost seemed like shadows, until they touched him and he could feel the dragging of cool, solid flesh. The sensation of having the long, slippery appendages slithering up his legs made him shudder and kick out instinctively, but they quickly tightened and held his legs apart. "_Ngh_- fuck, _Lee_-" Gaara shuddered as his dick was rubbed through the leather, making his body flush hotter in want.

Gaara ducked his head forward to attach his lips to Lee's shoulder, kissing past heavy breaths and clinging sharper with his fingertips across Lee's shoulder blades. It had been ages since he'd felt passion like this. In fact, he thought he might never have felt passion so strong. He groaned again and his head fell back as he squirmed.

Lee's teeth sank into the curve of Gaara's neck at the sound of his name, an answering groan pushing past his lips as he sucked on his skin. The demon was silent in his mind, but he could feel the shared power between him and the black limbs emerging from his body. The tentacles pulled Gaara's hips to the edge of the anvil, the ends narrowing and slipping under his leather pants to literally peel the fabric off flushed skin. His fingers found Gaara's nipples and he began to roll and flick at the nub roughly with his thumb.

Two tentacles slid around Gaara's waist and raised his lower body up, pressing his ass flush against Lee's groin as the leather was peeled off. Lee gasped as his dick slid between Gaara's cheeks, precum and sweat making the contact slick and hot. He reached between them and yanked whatever clothes Gaara had left to throw them to the side. "You are so beautiful, Master Gaara," Lee murmured huskily as a tentacle pressed against the tight hole between Gaara's cheeks. The limbs holding the sorcerer's legs apart were stroking his thighs, their blunt tips parting to reveal tiny tongues that flicked over the head of Gaara's dick.

Gaara gasped and his body jerked as the sensations bordered on overwhelming. The cool, slick tentacles were making his skin hypersensitive with every new shudder. Everything was so hot in contrast, blazing heat from the fire, the metal under his body, Lee's skin, their breath, it almost felt like a heatstroke if it weren't all so good. They were sweaty and dirty and Gaara could feel his usually static stricken hair being plastered to his temples. A sound of shock that was almost a yelp left him as he felt the tongues on his dick.

"Shit- fuck, _umhn_- Lee-" The sorcerer tried to lean back and look the smith in the face, but the tentacles weren't letting him move anywhere, wrapped all around him tightly. He spoke into Lee's ear instead, muscles fluttering and skin jumping without his control as he was touched. "You know how to- _ah, fuck_- be with- _hah-_ w- with a man?"

Both tongues swirled over the flushed head of Gaara's cock, teasing and keeping him pleasured without giving any real satisfaction. Lee shuddered as Gaara spoke in his ear, the meaning of his words registering a second later. The tentacle that had been pressing against Gaara's ass slithered to cup and fondle his balls instead. "Nn- is it...is it not the same with- with a woman? Just push in here..." A finger traced the valley between Gaara's cheeks and rubbed small circles against the puckered hole there. "And it should feel good...for you too."

Lee had already started to dry hump the slick space between Gaara legs, cock pulsing every time the tongues accidentally brushed against his as they worked on the redhead. He pressed kisses to Gaara's cheeks, trying to retain some sanity amidst the heat to hear what the sorcerer had to say.

"Oh, _shit_, yes-!" Gaara hissed. He tightened his hold on Lee's shoulders briefly before letting them go, allowing the tentacles to hold him up as he ran his hands over Lee's scared chest and sides. He tried to roll his hips with Lee's fruitlessly. The stimulation was driving him mad! It was all so much, but at the same time not enough. "Y- yes, but it t-takes, _mmhn! _More preparation than that."

Panting and struggling to stay focused instead of just letting Lee fuck him already, Gaara's head rolled back only to roll forward again with a groan of effort. His dick was aching and his ass was already tingling. He caught Lee's lips in a wet, hot kiss for a moment before returning his mouth to the smith's ear. "I can't lubricate like a woman does, and you need to stretch the ring of muscles before you can press inside. If you don't do that first, you'll only hurt me."

Lee's eyes were liquid black and lidded as Gaara pulled back from the kiss. He groaned at the explanation the sorcerer gave and at how erotic it sounded despite his inexperience having sex with men. "A-Alright. I do not want to hurt you." He licked his lips, searching for something to lubricate with.

Gaara was deliciously slick and hot against him, making it impossible to think clearly, so when the demon whispered a wicked solution to the problem- one that only a lust demon could offer- all Lee could do was take it. The tentacles around Gaara's legs pulled them even further apart and higher. The smith's lips pulled into an unfamiliar smirk while Lee laid the redhead down against the anvil. Hands anchored on Gaara's hips, he slid down Gaara's body and began to lick his way down his chest while the tentacle rubbing against Gaara's balls pressed against his ass once again.

The tip elongated and narrowed before squirming into Gaara by half an inch. With a deep breath, Lee drew on the demon's power to create a thick, viscous liquid that shot from the tentacle's tip. The liquid seeped into the very nerves in Gaara's ass until they were humming with sensitivity. The tentacle began to throb and thicken, stretching the ring of muscle as it twisted and rubbed against the walls inside.

"You feel so tight," Lee praised, lips closing over Gaara's perked nipple as he rubbed his dick between Gaara's thighs.

"_Oh god_-" Gaara's eyes shot wide and his legs tried unsuccessfully to kick in shock. Holy shit! One of the tentacles was _inside_ him, cool as it twisted and writhed. Gaara could feel something wet and potent, making his body shake as the tingling tripled and his blood burned. He arched back against Lee's anvil as the smith touched him, tangling his fingers in dark silk locks of hair over his chest with a long, guttural moan under that hot tongue.

"Shit- _god_- too much-" Gaara shook his head and gave a low, choked cry. "G-gonna cum-!"

The tentacle in the sorcerer's ass moved steadily, twisting and stroking just inside the entrance as it continued to bulge thicker. Gaara thought it might have hurt to be opened so quickly, but there was something in the lubrication that was making his nerves sing with delight instead.

Gaara's cries and groans of pleasure hummed in Lee's ears as he bit around the sorcerer's nipple, hands stroking and raking over the man's hips as the tentacle inside Gaara began to thrust. Lee panted against Gaara's skin, humping in time with the appendage shaking the sorcerer's body. He could feel the sparks of magic everywhere their skin touched until he was drunk with it and drunk with Gaara himself.

It wasn't enough. He wanted to be inside Gaara, wanted his dick replacing the tentacle thrusting into the redhead. But Gaara's cries were getting sweeter and the tongues playing with Gaara's head were deviously slipping into the slit at the tip and sliding out to tickle the purple vein running under it.

"Come," Lee growled, pinching Gaara's other nipple roughly.

Gaara's body jerked and his chin tucked sharply against his chest as his breath stopped. His sac drew up tightly and his dick pulsed as he spilled all over himself. The release was an immediate relief from the overwhelming sensations, but not the end of them. When it was over, Gaara's body became relaxed and boneless from his head to his toes as he released his breath and allowed the slithering tentacles to do all the work holding him up. Gaara's eyes were foggy and lidded as he looked up into Lee's face.

"Now," Gaara groaned softly. He reached up to cup Lee's face, tracing the smith's swollen lips with his thumb. "Take me now."

Lee pressed his lips against the thumb tracing them in a kiss as he rubbed against Gaara's hand. He didn't need to be told twice. The tentacle slowly slid out of the redhead after releasing another spray of fluid like earlier, keeping the other's nerves tingling and sensitive. Lee's eyes shifted from the strands of cum splattered all over Gaara's thighs and stomach, shivering from lust at the mass of it covering Gaara's length and balls.

Slipping his arms under the sorcerer's spread legs, he guided his dick towards the slick entrance and slowly sheathed himself into hot velvet. "A-Ahh- Feels so good, Gaara."

Gaara was right to ask for preparation. The liquid was making it easier to push in, with enough stretching from the tentacle to sheathe Lee's thick dick inside Gaara's slick walls. The tentacles wrapped around Gaara's waist began to pull him towards Lee, pressing their hips flush against each other until Lee was completely inside him.

After a quick breath, Lee started to thrust, eyes dark as he felt every pulse and contraction around his dick. And that was where his restraint snapped, hips pumping fast and hard as Lee groaned out Gaara's name.

Gaara panted and gasped, body shaking as Lee moved. Lee's length was hot inside him compared to the tepid flesh of the tentacle, and the friction only made it feel more so. Sweat poured from all across Gaara's body, making their skin slick as it slapped and slid together. "_Mmn_-! Ah, ah, _ah, oh-_"

The sorcerer wrapped his arms around Lee's shoulders and clung tightly, burying his face against the other's skin as he groaned through each hard, forceful thrust. The cheeks of his ass rippled and trembled each time Lee's hips hit them, making them quickly flush red. Gaara's fingers threaded through Lee's hair, tugging sharply with each stutter of the smith's rhythm. There was so much pressure! So much heat, overloading Gaara's brain and making him see stars in his vision. So good-!

Gaara was so tight! It felt like a heavy suction on Lee's dick every time he pulled out, while pushing inside was unlike any friction he'd ever felt. Lee suckled on Gaara's neck to ground himself as his hips moved against Gaara's. The appendages hauling the redhead towards him lifted him a bit higher, the demon whispering of a place inside Gaara that would feel like an explosion of pleasure for the sorcerer.

Taking hold of Gaara's hips, Lee followed the demon's voice and ground up at the same time as the tongue slipping in and out of Gaara's dick pulled out and the tentacles on his thighs opened into hot, wet mouths. "Gaara..." He panted, eyes gleaming as one of the mouths engulfed Gaara's dick and began to suck, its tongue sliding under his foreskin and swirling around the sensitive head. The other tentacle latched on to one of Gaara's balls and moved in circular motions, pushing his sac against the base of his cock again and again.. "I- I want to see you...covered in my cum. Fuck you until you cannot walk."

"_Mmngh-_ AH!" Gaara cried out sharply as Lee shifted and began to thrust against the place inside him that sent shocks of electricity through his nervous system and pulses up his dick. His fingers in Lee's hair fisted and jerked as the sorcerer's vision was framed with encroaching black through the thick, choking pressure that was growing in his body. The stimulation to his dick was fantastic, and he could feel his heart beating in his every vein. "God- fuck- _Lee_! Shit! _So good_-!"

Rational thinking didn't exist anymore. Gaara heard the meaning in Lee's voice without hearing the words, and it made him moan with ecstasy. He attached his mouth to Lee's shoulder and bit down, groaning against his skin as his toes curled and his fingers dug into the smith's back. It was so much, too much, he didn't know how much longer he could take it! "Lee-! Come, god, please come-!"

The heat was smoldering until Lee couldn't tell if it was from the hearth or from their frantic fucking. Pain laced his consciousness from Gaara's hands on his skin and his mouth on his shoulder but all Lee could do was moan as a wave of pure pleasure washed over him, forcing him to shut his eyes and thrust all the way inside the redhead until he'd spilled all of his seed in him. Sweat slid down from his face and back, his skin red from its proximity to the flame.

Lee felt burned and there was nothing he could compare to feeling the sorcerer's body engulfing him and the warm musky smell of their joining filling his senses. He thrust a few more times before his knees buckled and he had to lay forward with Gaara trapped between him and the anvil as he caught his breath.

Gaara's mouth dropped from Lee's shoulder in a silent shout as he felt Lee's last few frantic thrusts into his body. The sorcerer clawed tighter as he followed, his body jerking and twitching against the tentacles as he came. He groaned softly, unable to tell if the sticky, messy wetness that was all over his body was from the cum he'd spilled or the sweat from both of them. It was still so hot in here, but Gaara's body was finally beginning to feel less like a burst of raging fire and more like a slow glowing of coals as his body relaxed.

Lee was heavy. Gaara shifted slightly, only now realizing that being pressed against hot, hard metal (or pounded against it) was quite uncomfortable. The tentacles were still wrapped around his body, slithering slightly. His body shuddered slightly in aftershock as he trailed his hands down Lee's back.

"Hnghh." Muscles twitching from the light touch down his back, Lee nuzzled against Gaara's hair before he forced himself to push up from the anvil with a groan. The tentacles were already retreating, slithering over Gaara's body as they unwound from his limbs and waist to recede into Lee's skin. The smith's pupils shrank back until he was staring down at Gaara with lidded, satiated brown eyes that flickered from the hearth's flame. His cheeks were flushed as he gave the redhead a loped grin. "Wow."

Pulling out carefully, he got to his feet and gingerly lowered Gaara's legs from his waist, knowing that the tentacles would have uncomfortably stretched them until they were aching. Licking his parched lips, Lee ran his forearm over his brow. He was still high on his orgasm and the fact that Gaara still looked so sexy lying on his anvil and covered in cum and sweat. "How...How are you feeling? Are you alright?"

Gaara sighed heavily in relief as the tentacles slithered away, retreating and disappearing back into Lee's skin. Gaara's legs could finally relax from the spread-eagle position he'd been in, sliding down onto Lee's lap as he did. "I'm fine. That felt good."

That was probably one of the greatest understatement Gaara had made for the past several years, if not his life thus far. He couldn't quite bring himself to move yet, still feeling too gooey and satisfied. He sighed again, lips pulling up into a smile from the tingling in his muscles. He smirked at Lee, enjoying the flush on the other's body and the smell of their dirty bodies. "How long have you wanted to do that?"

"M-Master Gaara, I was not planning- that is, not with _tentacles_-" Brows raising at Gaara's question, Lee cleared his throat and glanced away in momentary embarrassment before he shook his head and settled for sheepishly rubbing his neck. "It has...been on my mind even when I was still infatuated with Miss Sakura. At first I did not want to believe I was attracted to you, but it grew harder to ignore when you began to fill my thoughts everyday." The sight of Gaara's small smile was gratification itself not to mention that it came after the best sex he'd ever had. Lee's shoulders relaxed. If Gaara hadn't wanted him as well, he would have said no from the start.

Taking Gaara's limp hand, Lee pressed a chaste kiss to his knuckles then squeezed it. "You mentioned going to town earlier. Is there any errand you need to run? I can do it so you can take a bath."

"Hm," Gaara hummed, still feeling the lazy pleasure at the forefront of his mind. Lee's kiss seemed to deepen that feeling, making him feel more warm than hot. The smith's lips on his hand was much more tender than the hard fucking that had burst from the man before. "That sounds like a good idea. I only had some things that needed to be taken to the market. Sometimes Ino sells my things for me if I'm too busy. You can drop off a box with her for me."

Gaara inhaled slow and deep as he pulled himself up. He felt niggles of an ache in his body from how rough they'd been, but it was overwhelmed by the glowing. He wrapped his arms around Lee's shoulders and kissed the man's cheek, feeling slippery and sensual as their bodies pressed limply together again. He only paused for a moment however before he slid off the other's lap and slowly got to his feet.

Lee smiled at the kiss and helped Gaara get to his feet. This was the first time he'd ever seen the sorcerer's defenses wiped away in a single moment, and he would never forget the trust and desire Gaara showed him even if nothing else happened after today. He wasn't as naive as he was as a young boy, and wasn't going to expect his relationship with the sorcerer to change just like that. "That will be no trouble at all." As he gave the other some room to straighten up, he looked remorsefully at the faint marks left behind by the demon's tentacles on Gaara's wrists and waist.

It had been easy to give in to the demon and tap into its powers earlier, but it was a stupid decision to make. Still, he felt energized, as if the demon had taken power from sex and had stored it inside the smith.

Lee picked up his discarded shirt and began to wipe away some of the cum from Gaara's stomach. All that leather that the sorcerer had been wearing earlier lay in various crumpled piles around the forge and most likely would carry the smell of their joining for days unless Gaara had a cleaning spell up his sleeve.

"Can you make it up to your room or should I carry you up, Master Gaara?" Lee asked, brows furrowing slightly despite the lighthearted teasing.

"Just because I've been fucked doesn't make me a damsel." Gaara rolled his eyes. He really did feel fine. There was a little twinge if he moved to fast, but he was fairly sure that there was something in the demon's lubrication that was already helping. He let Lee help clean him briefly before he took the shirt from the smith and began to collect the pieces of clothing that lay strewn about the room. He bundled his shirt, pants, and belt under his arm and put on his cloak. It billowed open at the front, exposing his dirty, naked body when he turned back to Lee.

"If you hurry back you might be able to join me for that bath," Gaara told him. His mansion was a beautiful, spacious one, but some of the details were outdated with the grandeur of age. His bath consisted of a rather large tub with a fireplace beneath it to keep the water warm. Gaara usually lit the fire himself and kept it burning with a small charm, but he could make the gremlins tend to it this time if it meant he could stall a while getting it ready until Lee came back.

Gaara's remark brought a smirk to Lee's face, the smith imagining Gaara capturing a dragon rather than needing to be saved from one. Letting Gaara take his shirt from him, Lee stood back and enjoyed the sight of the sorcerer picking up his clothes until the redhead finally turned back to him with his naked body presented for him to see.

Lee groaned and bit his inner lip at the sexy sight, cheeks warm. "I am beginning to wonder if you tempt me on purpose," he muttered before he shook his head and saluted the sorcerer. He wasn't going to turn down the chance to take a bath, especially not one with Gaara in it. "Yosh! I will drop your package and be back here in less than an hour! Or I will run back and forth from here to town fifty times!"

Pumping his fist resolutely in the air and flashing a thumbs up, Lee grinned at the sorcerer and winked at him.


	5. Chapter 5 (NSFW!)

**AN: Thanks to everyone who's reading so far! :) Just thought I'd let you know, the total number of chapters in this fic is eighteen. I'm putting them out as I review and edit. Don't forget to give love to my co-author, ChineseFireThorn in any reviews! Thanks!**

**Also, this chapter is _partially_ Not Safe For Work. **

* * *

Gaara growled lightly to himself as he cast charm after charm across the hallway. There was no getting used to it. No matter where or when or how many times Gaara used his spells to dust every surface in the entire mansion, Lee was still getting black soot ___everywhere!_ This morning when Lee had cooked breakfast for them both, Gaara had actually found soot in his food!

The sorcerer was in the process of cleaning the trail from the entrance of the mansion to the ballroom. It wasn't a difficult set of spells, but it was time consuming. No matter how many times he did it, it didn't seem to make a difference!

"Lee!" Gaara called in a warning tone as he approached the large set of double doors to the ballroom. He waved his hands, causing a gust of wind to blow them open.

Just as the double doors banged against the wall, Gaara was met with a rush of smoke and ash as if the very room was belching smog. Lee stood with his back to Gaara and was shaping a new hammer against his grinding stone, producing an annoying grating sound as he worked the metal into shape.

The bang of the doors had Lee jolting and nearly chipping off a chunk of the hammer. "Good afternoon Wizard Gaara!" he greeted cheerfully, faltering when he saw the tightness of the redhead's mouth, the knot between his brows and the traces of magic lingering in the air around him. "Um...I am sorry?"

After living with Gaara for half a month now, it was easy to recognize the look on Gaara's face. Apologizing automatically never helped, but Lee liked to think that it saved him from getting zapped immediately.

"___Sorcerer_ Gaara," the man growled in irritated in correction. Gaara coughed automatically against the smog in the room, but managed to maintain his glare as he approached the other man. "I just spent the last hour cleaning up the soot that is ___all over_ my home. This is ridiculous! It takes more energy that I am willing to expel to clean it all up ___every day._ And you know what? All that soot doesn't just disappear when I wave my hand. It has to go somewhere!"

The sorcerer extended his arm and pointed sharply at Lee's bed across the room. In a burst of magic that left the air crackling, buckets of black powder fell from thin air onto the smith's clean blankets and pillows.

Lee gaped at what Gaara did, staring at his soiled bed in shock. Turning his eyes towards the sorcerer, his jaw worked soundlessly for a moment before he sputtered. "What did you do that for?! It is not like I leave soot everywhere on purpose!" He set down his hammer and wiped the sweat from his furrowed brow, trying not to let the heat get to him or his temper.

"You have gremlins cleaning up whenever you brew potions or when a spell goes wild, do you not? I cannot change into clean clothes or take a shower every time I deliver things to town," he argued.

Gaara scowled and crossed his arms. Honestly, Lee couldn't really ___help_ the fact that his occupation was a dirty one. It was still annoying as hell, however! Gaara liked dirt, he liked sand, and he even liked mud on occasion- but ___soot_ drove him nuts. It was so thin, it got into ___everything_, it smeared like dry paint, and it was harder to get out than sand or dirt. "The gremlins are not clever with practical cleaning. They're ___used_ to cleaning up after magic, soot is different!"

The sorcerer narrowed his eyes at Lee's bed, which was now dusted with a thick coat of black. "If you find somewhere better for me to put it, tell me. Until then, it ends up on your bed." The sorcerer turned his back and skulked back through the double doors.

He couldn't believe this! Lee's jaw set as he headed over to his bed and tried to minimize the staining. Though it was in the same room as the hearth, he took care in placing it at the furthest area with the best ventilation to keep it clean. It was a fruitless effort with every inch of his covers and pillows dusted with soot now, and he could only gather up the bedcovers in a makeshift sack to throw out later.

* * *

"How is that, Master Gaara?" Lee called down from the ladder he was currently perched on, about four storeys up from the floor of the mansion's lobby. Looking down from that height, he had to grip the upper rung of the ladder tight and did his best not to let his legs turn to jelly. The huge tapestry he was hanging on top of the grand lobby depicted various scenes both peaceful and violent, all centered around a sphere covered in tree roots and leaves.

Frankly, it creeped him out.

"I will need more nails up here to secure it in place," he told the gremlins helping him out as the ladder shuddered from his weight. Its base rested on the upper balcony but it was no where near as stable as being on nice, solid ground.

"It's still crooked. Try lifting the center higher again!" Gaara called from below. He leaned back and crossed his arms as he surveyed the tapestry. It was just as spectacular as he'd thought it would be- not to mention it possessed several enchantments throughout each purposeful image- but hanging it was turning out to be a pain.

Gaara ___could_ just hang it with magic, but it would stay in place for much longer if it was hung properly with nails. Something he was taught from the beginning of his training was that if something could be done with your hands, you should avoid using magic to complete the task. He'd come to bend that rule off and on, but why do that now when he had Lee? He was still overlooking the process however, to make sure that it was hung straight.

"Move the second nail further to the left, or it won't be even!"

Inhaling a long suffering breath, Lee shook his head at Gaara's perfectionist tendencies but did as he said and fixed the nail in place. The gremlin perched on his shoulder offered him another nail which he took gratefully, except that he almost fell backwards, arms flailing until he could hang on to the ladder again. "I-Is that better?" Face pale, he looked down again and began to sweat lightly.

Lee wasn't afraid of heights and he actually liked the challenge of doing these kind of things for Gaara. But there was a line between hanging something in your home and hanging something from a height you could break your back from. "I do not think anyone will notice if the tapestry is not perfectly straight."

___But _I'd___know, _Gaara didn't say out loud. He sighed and let his arms fall back down to his sides, then recrossed them and leaned his weight to one side. "You're almost there anyway, so it wouldn't hurt to try for gold."

One of the gremlins had been crawling along the top of the tapestry when its foot slipped. The little creature scrambled for something to hold onto, but that only made the rest of its holds come loose. It toppled down with a shriek. Gaara almost rolled his eyes, but instead chose to wave his hand in the general direction of the creature. A bed of feathers nearly a story high appeared, and the gremlin's shriek became muffled through the fluff of safety.

"When you go into town this afternoon, please apologize to the Inuzukas for me. I just plucked most of the chickens in their livestock." Gaara tilted his head and squinted at Lee's handiwork. It looked better now.

The fate of the gremlin almost caused his heart to stop but the sudden appearance of the bed of feathers was reassuring. Lee ran his palm over his face before waving at the sorcerer. He knew by now that magic was more of an exchange than a miracle. Now the only problem would be explaining why Gaara had to defeather every chicken the Inuzukas owned. Not to mention that while the Inuzukas had been friendly towards him before the possession, only Kiba would talk to him now. All their dogs went crazy every time he passed by their home. "Alright, let us finish this up! I will need to bring some bones if I am to visit the Inuzukas."

Moving down a few rungs, Lee leaned against the ladder and took the hammer from his belt again. "So, left or right?"

* * *

Gaara threw his head back briefly and let a soft sound leave his voice. The tentacles wound tightly up his arms and wrapped around his wrists, holding them above his head as he rolled his hips. He ducked his head again and caught Lee's eye below him as he lifted himself up and down with his thighs, slow and long with each plunge of his body onto Lee's. He moaned again softly and shuddered as a cool, slick tentacle slid across his chest and dragged sensually across his nipple.

"Lee..."

The smith hummed in response, eyes lidded and dark as he lifted Gaara's hips up and down, hands kneading on the curve of his hips and fingertips raking over skin. A tentacle curled around Gaara's neck and rubbed against the side of his mouth obscenely while Lee suckled on his other nipple. The mass of tentacles curled around Gaara's limbs were pulsing faintly, secreting that same fluid that sensitized every inch of skin it touched. Lee reached behind and traced the curve of Gaara's cheeks, parting them and rubbing light circles over the stretched ring of muscle there.

A thin tendril curled up from the base of Lee's cock, winding around it as he thrust up into Gaara's body. It easily slipped in as he pulled Gaara's hips all the way down. "Is this what you want?" he murmured, licking at the sweat on the sorcerer's neck. "Am I doing good?"

Seeking out that bundle of nerves inside Gaara, the thin tentacle began to stroke it continuously even while the tentacles and Lee's hands forced Gaara's hips to keep moving.

"___Ah! _Yes- ___gods, yes-!_" Gaara's eyes shot wider and his body shuddered involuntarily with pleasure and tingling. It was ___so_ good-! His muscles fluttered and spasmed around Lee's length as his body sang with the amazing sensations. Why was it always so easy for him to be overwhelmed when he was with Lee? He'd ___enjoyed_ sex before, but he'd never experienced anything like ___this_. "___Lee-!_ Just l-like that!"

The sorcerer threw his head back and groaned softly. He felt a tentacle prodding at his lips and turned his mouth toward it on pure needy impulse. He let it enter his mouth, licking at the bitter taste with a renewed shudder.

Gaara's taste filled his mouth, his voice deep and husky resounding in Lee's ears and spurring the heat between them. Lee had no words to express the desire and attraction he felt for Gaara, but he knew that he wanted him fiercely, more than he had ever wanted anything in his life.

As he looked up at the sorcerer's face and began to pound against that place inside him, the demon's inky markings flickered on his cheeks and neck.

* * *

"Just hold still for a moment. Look away and concentrate on something else if you need to. This will hurt a bit." Gaara took a deep breath as he focused his power.

He'd moved Lee onto the smith's bed when he'd discovered the injury, and he sat next to him on the edge of the mattress. Gaara's brow furrowed in concentration as he coerced the bone in Lee's arm to snap back into place. He ran his hand over the place where Lee's arm was angled unnaturally. When the pieces were back where they should be and began to meld together again, Gaara pulled his hand back with a deep breath. The corners of his mouth pulled down with anxiousness as he touched Lee's hair and examined his face. "How do you feel now?"

Gaara's attempt to mend his bones together had Lee screaming between grit teeth, eyes shut tightly as his muscles spasmed around the healing bones. When it was over, he reached up with his good hand to slip around Gaara's waist and held on as he smiled tightly at the sorcerer. His eyes were feverish after spending almost an hour with the grindstone coming unhinged from its stand and crushing his left arm after his attempt to catch it. He'd been in too much pain to tap into the demon's power with his cries for help unheard until Gaara finally came home. "Much...much better. Thank you, Master Gaara."

He stared at his currently useless arm, at the bruises erupting on his skin where bones and veins had been crushed, and the red patch where Gaara's magic was working to heal his arm. "Is it permanently broken?" he asked in a hoarse tone.

"Liar." About the 'better' part, at least. Gaara leaned over Lee and pressed his lips against the smith's forehead. Lee's skin felt too hot. The sorcerer connected their bodies through that touch only briefly, and winced as he felt Lee's pain. "I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner. I shouldn't have taken my time in the market like I did."

Gaara reached into the inner pocket of his cloak and summoned a vial from his collection. It was small and filled with a thick green liquid that stank of exotic, sour plants, with an edge of something unidentifiable and putrid. He poured it onto Lee's arm and rubbed it into his skin as tenderly as he could, knowing that the area was still sensitive. His eyes flitted across the smith's pale face with worry. "This will help numb the pain a bit. Your arm will heal completely, but it's going to be a while before the effects of the break are completely gone. I'm sorry."

Lee squeezed Gaara's waist fondly. He'd never received this much care from the sorcerer, or anyone outside of his family. Gaara's worry touched him. The potion helped a little in numbing the pain, and he nodded in forced cheer. "That is good news! At least my arm is not lost. Do not blame yourself, Master Gaara. It was my fault for trying to catch the grinding stone."

The smell of the vial brought a wave of nausea as Lee tried to get up. He wasn't going to let some accident get him down! It hurt to move his arm, but Gaara's eyes were on him and he never wanted the other man to think he caused this. "I can still work with my right arm. And the demon can lend me much more with its power."

"Hell fucking ___no_." Gaara shoved Lee back down onto the bed as the anxious look on his face turned into a glare instead. In a wave of his hands the covers of the bed jerked out from under the smith, spilling him onto the mattress sheets before sliding on top of him and wrapping tightly around his body. It left only his shoulders and arms exposed, while the rest was tucked tightly into place. "You have a ___fever_, and your body isn't healed yet! It will take the whole night for your bones to strengthen again, ___at least_."

Gaara huffed and sat back on the bed next to Lee. He frowned and looked down at the blankets for a few instants in thought before nodding to himself. "I'll bring you something to eat soon, and anther poultice for your arm. Something to help you sleep, too."

Yelping as he was manhandled by the covers, Lee only had time to register Gaara scolding him before he was tucked tightly in place. Thank the gods he'd dug out a trench leading to the lowlands earlier, giving Gaara a place to dump soot instead of on his bed. "But Master Gaara! It is not youthful to stay in bed the whole night." Lee protested though he didn't dare struggle with his arm still in its state.

The pain was receding with the poultice Gaara gave and the stress he'd undergone had him feeling weak and tired. "You cannot expect me to just lie down and do nothing!" With his right arm, he clasped Gaara's wrist and tried to plead with him through his eyes.

"That is ___exactly_ what I expect you to do," Gaara informed him factually. He held Lee's gaze solidly for a few seconds before his expression softened almost unnoticeably. He gently took Lee's hand and kissed his knuckles, briefly. "If you continued to work in your condition, you would only hurt yourself further and I would feel worse. Are you trying to make me feel worse about not coming to your aide when you needed me?"

As expected, Lee fell into the clever trap Gaara set in front of him. "Of course not! I would never want you to feel that way!" Shaking his head and ruffling the perfect bowlcut he sported, he squeezed Gaara's hand before he snuggled into a more comfortable position under the covers and resolutely pressed his head back against the pillow. "I promise I will not do anything to make my situation worse. Um, but can I at least do one hand push-ups?" he asked hopefully.

"Not where I can see you," Gaara amended, refusing to allow his lips to twist up in a smirk. He squeezed Lee's hand in return and laid down next to him on his back with a small sigh. He was going to be keeping a ___very_ close eye on the smith for a little while. "And not until you've gotten some rest."

Gaara laid his head back to share half of Lee's pillow. He focused his power through the connection in their joined hands, double checking Lee's body. He was healing faster than what was normal after the influence of Gaara's magic, but it would still take a while. "Close your eyes for a while."

Lee shut his eyes obediently and fell silent. Only the sorcerer knew him well enough to know that he wasn't always the jolly man he usually was. The smell of herbs and sulfur on Gaara's clothes and hair soothed him with their familiarity, as did the weight of his body next to him. Hard to believe the passing acquaintance he had with the sorcerer was now something bigger, though neither of them tried to define it.

From what little Gaara taught him of magic, Lee pushed the pain of his arm away form his mind and gently met the connection Gaara initiated. The pulse of magic moved through their joint hands like a current of water flowing from one body to the next. With a small smile, Lee sent his feelings of gratitude and warmth for Gaara through that connection, willing it to take place over his pain.

Gaara allowed himself to smile softly in response, but didn't otherwise acknowledge Lee's mutual connection with him. He was getting used to having Lee around- the smith should already know that Gaara wasn't going to remain motionless while Lee was hurt. Lee had been taking care of Gaara whenever the sorcerer asked, and was growing to understand Gaara's signals without even needing to talk to him. Their bond was becoming stronger, and Gaara was growing grateful for it.


	6. Chapter 6

Time was both existent and irrelevant as the two men continued their unique dynamics. Lee's arm healed nicely, and Gaara's ambitions were growing larger. He continued to send the demon on dangerous tasks, sometimes testing his strength, and other times for the true sake of the power that was always brought back to him. The sorcerer's mind had been swelling with an idea for some time now, dwelling on it every hour as he weighed his options and present opportunities. It would be dangerous- for both of them, most likely- and it would be time consuming if he was correct about the process. He wasn't sure if it was too corrupt for his changed nature, but... it was something he thought needed to be done.

It was early morning. The sun hadn't yet risen, but the darkness outside was thinning. Lee had spent the night in Gaara's bed, and had been asleep for hours already. They were both still naked and a bit dirty, but they'd been too exhausted to care when they'd finally passed out. Gaara had woken some time ago however, and had some things on his mind.

The redhead scooted back from where Lee had been wrapped around him and propped his head up on one hand. The smith was still dead asleep, and looked quite peaceful. Not smiling like a fool or furrowing his serious brows as he concentrated on his work- just resting.

"Asmodeus," Gaara called, his voice only a fraction softer than it normally would have been.

At the sound of the demon's name, Lee's eyes blinked open, a sheen on each pure black eye. The twist of his lips broke whatever semblance of peace the smith had as the demon slowly pushed himself up and ran his fingers down Lee's soiled chest in interest. Lee's skin remained free from the demon's marks for now as it regarded Gaara, lust and malevolence lurking behind the heated gaze. "I sense you finally have a task worthy of my power," it crooned, daring to tilt Gaara's chin up with two fingers.

Days after Lee's possession, the demon had revealed the extent of its power to Gaara and what it could do with Lee's body according to the deal between them. It was free to take possession of Lee's senses, to see, hear, feel, taste, smell everything the smith did with or without him being conscious of it. But Asmodeus was a demon who took pleasure in its host just as it fueled Lee's lusts and fed him its power during sex.

Lee's eyes roved down Gaara's body appreciatively. "Lending my power for pleasure is a small treat, but I tire of the tasks you give me."

Gaara jerked his face away from the demon's hand and frowned. He of course ___knew_ that the demon was involved with his physical relationship with Lee- probably more so than even Lee understood- but Gaara didn't appreciate such familiarity without Lee's consciousness.

"I have been thinking for sometime," Gaara began slowly, still mulling over the extent of what he was asking. "About your power, and something I need to have done. My previous master- the sorcerer who trained me- is a very, very powerful man. He is dangerous, and wretched. What... do you know... of placing curses?"

The demon bared Lee's teeth in a strange grin, so different from the smith's cheerful smiles. Its eyes flickered as it pulled free from the blanket and stretched out languidly. "Curses...curses. Those are but simple spells that barely dip into your potential, Master Gaara. I may know about your previous master if he has called another demon."

It toyed with Lee's muscled abdomen, rubbing the dried cum on Lee's skin before trailing Lee's hand down his lower belly. No matter the bind caused by its name, the demon was free to do as it pleased unless it was harmful to Gaara. "What curse are you thinking of? Months of agony from rotting organs? A plague that will run through countless villages before it stops?"

Gaara's frown deepened in distaste at the way the demon was touching Lee's body. The redhead found Lee's physical features attractive- his strong build, the callouses on his hands, the scars that detailed his skin like a map- but it annoyed him to be reminded that Lee's body was the property of another now.

"His name is Shukaku. He is nearly as much a demon as you are by now." Gaara sat up a fraction straighter as he spoke. "I want him to be stripped of his power. I want every piece of pain he inflicts upon others to be turned against him doublefold. I want him to die in complete reclusion."

The demon paused its exploration of Lee's body at Gaara's words, eyes flickering in recognition of the name. "Ahh the old priest. He is well known as a man who will do anything for power. I doubt he has anything left to give of himself. We have received many innocent sacrifices in exchange for unleashing the darkest forces on his enemies."

A chuckle resonated in Lee's throat. "I'm surprised he was your mentor. Someone who delights in darkness could not have a protege so unwilling to cause destruction." The demon's eyes lidded in thought. "But you do have it in you, don't you? I can feel it lurking in your desires. If I am to place a curse on someone that powerful, it will come at a great price and put you-and this man-at great risk."

"I'm willing to see this through." Gaara was definitive. On some level he thought this might have been selfish of him to place Lee at serious risk- but Shukaku was a person who needed to perish, and of that he was certain. "I'm willing to put much of my power into this task as well as yours. I'm in no rush. I understand how dangerous it is."

Gaara sighed and rubbed his face. He was tired. It was still early, after all. "If you can do it, name the price. I'll decide if it's worth it."

"One." The demon held up a finger. "I will need to be close enough to Shukaku for a curse that strong. Two. The deals he made with my brethren will also play a part in this, and you must be prepared to give an equally high exchange to break the protection he surrounds himself with." Baring his teeth in a grin, the demon held up a third finger. "And I will need the smith's body for two days to gather enough power. And conclude some unfinished business."

Shrugging his shoulders and cracking Lee's neck side to side, the demon got to its feet off the bed and stretched languidly. "Those are my terms."

Gaara nodded and laid back for a moment, looking up at the canopy above his bed. His mind wandered as he considered his options. He wasn't in a hurry. Just as the demon would need time to gather its power, Gaara would want to do the same. He had wanted to know if it could be done, and he was satisfied enough to know that it could.

"Not today. You can count on it within the month, however. I'll call you when you can begin your two days." Gaara sat up and scratched the back of his head. He tilted his head at the demon as it stretched Lee's strong, attractive body. Without the marks, it could probably pass for Lee, until you noticed the eyes. When you looked it in the eyes, a person would ___know_ something wasn't right. "You are dismissed."

"As you wish." Bowing slightly despite the glint in its eyes, all marks of the demon receded back into Lee's body. One blink and Lee's eyes were back to normal, if a bit dazed like he'd just woken up from a dream.

"Mmnnmmwha...what'ime is it?" Lee mumbled, swaying in place before he stumbled back and caught himself on the side table. The shock jolted him awake, eyes flying wide open and disorientation filling his features. "What- Master Gaara? Why am I-" He began, before his brows furrowed in realization. "Oh, you called the demon."

He rubbed the back of his neck and shut his eyes as he stretched out his other arm, grunting as it properly woke him up. Padding over to the bed again, he got on it with one knee and leaned over to kiss Gaara chastely. "Good morning. Are you going to be busy for the day?"

"Sorry to startle you like that." Gaara leaned in to make the kiss last longer, but let the smith go after a few seconds with a small sigh. "I think I have some things that need to be taken care of today, but I might have some spare time. Do you have many commissions to work on?"

The sorcerer slipped out from under the covers and stood on the other side of the bed from Lee. He stretched and yawned, grimacing at the dried grime left on his body from last night. He walked to the short dresser next to the window. There was a bowl of clean water with a cloth in front of the mirror there to clean himself with briefly. He touching his fingertip to the water's surface and sparked his magic to warm it before he lifted the cloth and began to wipe himself down.

Lee watched Gaara clean himself with a fond smile, cheeks tinging red a little as he eyed the sorcerer's lean body. "I just need to finish the plating for the artificer's table and deliver it before noon. Business has been slow this month." He headed over to where Gaara was and squeezed his shoulders before gathering the clothes he'd discarded last night. "If you are available, would you like to come to town with me? I heard there is a troupe of performers passing by. It would be nice to watch them together."

He would never tell Gaara about it but with the demon inhabiting him, it was harder to get customers now. People were wary of him, even those who were still friendly with him and commissioned items. The demon always sent a feeling of warning whenever he was around people who could sense it, probably to preserve its host body rather than truly caring about what happens to Lee. There were rumors that Gaara was experimenting on him with the growth potion still in effect and the smith living at the mansion. He knew perfectly well what could happen if worse rumors would begin to emerge.

Taking a walk through town and visiting friends with Gaara might help stop some of the gossip about them.

"I think I heard about that," Gaara replied. He watched Lee gathering his clothes behind him through the mirror, tilting his head and admiring the view whenever Lee had to bend down to pick something up. "I could use some fresh air. I'll go."

Gaara scrubbed the last of the mess on his stomach and between his legs, then dropped the soiled cloth back in the water. He opened one of the drawers on the dresser and pulled out a pair of his favorite leather pants. He slipped them on and strode across the room to Lee. He pulled the man's face down for another chaste, lingering kiss before eyeing the bundle of clothes in his arms. "Did you find everything?"

A loped grin crossed Lee's face after the kiss before he nodded. "Everything but my socks. I think your gremlins keep taking them but they refuse to admit it!" He shook his head but hefted the pile of clothes under his arm. No one ever came to the mansion so Lee had eventually formed the bad habit of walking down to his rooms or to the baths naked. "Alright then, I will go make breakfast for us. Meet you in the dining room!"

Cheekily groping Gaara's ass through the leather pants, he ducked out of the sorcerer's rooms and headed off to his own room.

Gaara rolled his eyes, but couldn't help the smirk that lifting his mouth and glimmered in his eyes. His time with Lee was quite fun and left him satisfied, which was all he could really ask for in his opinion. The sorcerer finished getting dressed and prepared for the rest of his day.

* * *

"I'll not go any lower. You have my final offer."

Gaara glowered internally as he examined the buckle that was for sale. The old woman who ran the booth was especially stubborn as they haggled price today. He could always find the leather straps, buckles, and buttons that he liked to wear here, but it was clear that the woman didn't like him. He tried to remain impassive as he felt the weight of his item in his hand and glanced at some of the other things on display.

"If I wanted to pay that much, I might as well throw in those straps as well." He took those down from a shelf and showed it to her. "Add these, and I'll pay just three pieces more."

The woman glared and lifted her chin. "Four pieces more."

As Gaara continued to haggle with the woman, Lee held back the laughter that threatened to spill. Gaara was ___stubborn _and stingy down to the last copper piece. He looked over Gaara's shoulder, amused at the amount of leather in the stall and the greedy gleam in the sorcerer's eyes. He'd personally never stopped by this stall, but knew the seller had a reputation for selling as high as her pride was.

"Hmm... the edges of that buckle are not even," he pointed out, fishing the item from Gaara's palm. "See, if you try to fix a strip of leather here, the end will not fit well and the leather will have folds at the edges. In fact, three pieces is too much and I could craft better ones for you at my forge." Eyes crinkling, he set the buckle back on the counter and made a show of tapping Gaara's arm to go.

"Hold on a minute! These are quality materials and the best you can find here." The woman scowled at Lee's interference. "Four pieces with the straps and a strip of cured leather, and we'll call it even. You'll see that that buckle will make a fine belt."

Gaara raised a brow and weighed his items for another moment as if he were still debating. When the woman finally huffed an impatient sigh, he nodded and began fishing out his coin purse. "I suppose that will do."

After he'd paid the woman and had taken to walking back through the market with Lee, Gaara offered his friend a small smirk. "Thank you, Lee. I should take you shopping more often."

Lee laughed once they were out of earshot and grinned at the sorcerer. "What can I say? Metal is my expertise. I still do not understand your fascination with leather though. It does not look very comfortable."

He kept a safe distance from the sorcerer to avoid arousing suspicion about the true nature of their relationship. However, he couldn't help pulling Gaara closer or keeping a protective arm on the man's shoulder when they walked through the crowd. The town square was filled with everything from food stalls to street performers. It was chaos and Lee revelled in every part of it after living at the mansion for a long time.

"Oh! Have you ever tried Madam Goodwin's honeyed yams? She only sells them during festivals. You should really try one." Tilting his head towards the food stalls, he started heading in that direction all the while keeping his eyes on the sorcerer.

"I've never heard of them." Gaara raised his brow and looked onto the booth with interest. He'd visited Madam Goodwin before, but hadn't been aware she made anything special for festivals or occasions. He was just about to say something else when he was cut off by a loud exclamation behind them.

"___Lee?!_ Is that you?" Sakura was dressed in a brilliant red summer dress for the festival. Her hair was tucked back and her eyes were wide with delight as she strode up to the pair. She hesitated and a flicker of doubt crossed her face when she got closer to Lee, but she tried to cover it up with a bigger smile. "Wow, you've... grown."

Lee's head whipped towards the sound of Sakura's voice. With a grin and a shout of "Miss Sakura!", he cheerfully enveloped her in a warm embrace. Whatever feelings he had for her had turned into friendly affection. "I did not know you were back in town! How was your training under Doctor Tsunade? You cut your hair! It suits you very well, Miss Sakura." He stepped back, looking over the woman excitedly. "It has been a long time since we last talked. I have missed you a lot!"

Laughing at Lee's enthusiasm, she fingered the shorter haircut she sported. "I missed you too Lee. My training went very well. Doctor Tsunade worked me hard but she taught me so much about healing people." Her smile faltered when she looked up at Lee again. There was something strange about her friend, something that went past his physical growth. Turning her eyes away from Lee towards his companion, she paused before greeting him as well.

"Hello Sorcerer Gaara. I hear Lee is staying at your home now. Has he been causing you any trouble?" she asked, wondering why she felt so uneasy around the two of them.

"There was a brief issue involving soot build up in my home, but we've resolved it." Gaara stepped around from where he was still half hidden behind Lee and tilted his chin down at the woman. He'd only talked to Sakura once or twice himself, and seen her around the town. He hadn't even been aware that she'd left for training or what not. He turned his head toward Madam Goodwin's booth. "I am going to buy some of those honeyed yams. I'll be right back."

"A soot issue?" Sakura watched Gaara walk away with raised brows. She felt her stomach churning for some unidentifiable reason at being left alone with Lee. They were in the middle of the market, surrounded by a crowd of fellow townsfolk, but she still didn't feel... right. Not at ease, or relaxed.

Lee felt the demon stir in him and he glanced at Sakura in concern. The warning thudded in his chest but surely Sakura wouldn't avoid him like everyone else if he was still friendly towards her. "Since moving to the mansion, I had to move my forge with me. Master Gaara hates it when the soot from my hearth gets all over his things." He chuckled, trying to ease the tension he felt from Sakura. "So how have you been? I have not passed by your clinic yet and have not been in town much. Is it open again?"

Sakura smoothed some of the folds on her dress as she regarded Lee. She was more attuned to the energies of nature after learning from Tsunade. There was definitely something disrupting Lee's normally bright aura. "I've opened my clinic already. You wouldn't believe how many people are visiting everyday! You should drop by some time. We can catch up and you can tell me all about how you ended up living with Sorcerer Gaara." She smiled.

Gaara was in line in the booth, gazing at nothing as he stretched his power back to Lee and Sakura, eavesdropping on their conversation. They both sounded cheery, but it rang a false note, as if they were both trying too hard. Their voices were almost anxious. The sorcerer frowned when he noticed the warnings that the demon emitted from Lee's aura. He pulled out his change purse when he got to the front of the line and asked for the yams.

"You know, Lee," Sakura commented after a pause. She wrung her hands in front of her and hesitated for an instant. "If you ever need someone to talk to, I want you to come to me. I've been hearing some rumors, and I know that you can take care of yourself, but... everyone needs someone to talk to, right?"

Lee's smile softened into a faint line at the offer. Brows furrowing, he glanced over at Gaara's back then nodded hesitantly at Sakura. "That would be nice. Please do not believe any of the rumors about us. Erm, whatever rumors you have heard. You know I would never enter into something blindly or unwillingly."

"Lee." Sakura raised a brow. "This is you we're talking about. Just...be careful. Around everyone in town and around him." Her face twisted in worry once more as she reached out and placed a hand on Lee's forearm, a chill running up her spine, before she pulled her hand back quickly and excused herself.

Looking after the woman, Lee sighed quietly and ran a hand through his hair. At least Sakura still wanted to talk to him even when he could see how disturbed she was. He searched the stalls for Gaara and went over to join him again.

The sorcerer collected his purchase and turned just in time to see Lee ducking to enter the stall. He stepped up to his friend and held out half his haul for the other to take. He didn't comment on the smith's conversation with Sakura, or show that he had heard anything. He knew that Lee was going to have some tough times, and alienate people he cared about. Gaara experienced it all the time, and he hoped that Lee was strong enough to rise above it in the end. "Is there anything else you wanted to do before we started walking back?"

"No, I am good to head home," Lee said, accepting half of the yams and biting into the sweet starchy crop. Bumping into Sakura had been a surprise, but not a completely pleasant one. Trying not to ruin their day with his mood, he smiled at the sorcerer and waved goodbye to Madam Goodwin and her assistant as they left the stall.

"I enjoyed going out with you today, Master Gaara. Thank you for accompanying me. Maybe next time we have a festival, we can put up a stall for your potions." He slung an arm behind Gaara's neck as they maneuvered past the last of the crowds.

Gaara smirked and allowed Lee to lead him through the throng of festival goers. It still annoyed him how easy it was for Lee to put an arm around his shoulders when Gaara would have to reach awkwardly high to do the same, but he was getting used to it by now. "I tried that once, at another town, years ago. I got in some trouble for selling too many love potions. I've tried to stick to more practical themes since then, but I still get the odd commissions."

Taking a bite of a yam, Gaara chewed thoughtfully. It was good. Better than he'd thought it would taste. It left his fingers sticky, but he didn't mind. They turned away from the market and began to walk along the road that lead to Main Street, which would then lead them away from the town limits.

"I think that comes with the job, Master Gaara." Lee chuckled, staring over people's heads easily at the sun setting on the horizon. It had been a good day.


	7. Chapter 7

Rain battered against the shingles of the mansion's roof and whipped the trees around in a frenzy of leaves and broken twigs slapping against the windows. Thunder roared outside, like a battlecry with flashes of lightning, steel against steel. The double doors of Gaara's mansion blew open and let in the howl of the wind and rain as a figure stumbled over the wooden floor of the main lobby.

The gremlins that were at the lobby squeaked in surprise at the man's entrance and hurried off to let Gaara know that Lee was finally back after the demon's two-day quest.

Lee struggled to get the doors closed with one arm, slipping on the wet floor and panting from exhaustion and pain. His eyes were dark, dull, distant and half-covered by his wet bangs. Marks of the demon crawled over his skin like living ink as he shook off the heavy cloak from his shoulders and began taking off his wet clothes with pained gasps. There was a sack slung over one shoulder that dripped slivers of light and something dark on the floor. Lee's body was dirty, covered in mud from the rain as the demon's tentacles crawled out of his skin and wrapped around him for what little warmth they could offer.

Moments later, the sorcerer rushed into the lobby of his mansion, excitement in his eyes as he spotted Lee just inside the closed doorway. Gaara barely noticed how filthy Lee was before his eyes zeroed in on the sack Lee had brought with him.

"Is this it? Did you get it?" Gaara grinned almost manically with delight as he took the bag, feeling the fleshy weight of its contents. The head and tail of a chimera, to aide the powers of the demon and himself.

Lee could only nod in reply, watching with unfocused eyes as Gaara took the bag in excitement. The mud on his body was dripping down on the floor, pooling around him unnaturally. This wasn't the welcome he'd expected. The one that had kept him going even when he watched the demon slaughter a dozen sorcerers and witches that owed it their lives, through the forest the demon had hunted the chimara in, the beast ripping at Lee's left arm and leg with its lion's paws and stinging him multiple times with only the demon's powers holding him up.

"G...Gaara," he croaked, brows knotting as he leaned against the door for support.

The sorcerer looked up briefly when he heard Lee's voice, but only made a vague gesture in the other man's direction before turning his eyes back to the sack. "I'll call some gremlins to help you clean up. I need to get to work on this while it's still fresh."

Harvesting power from any object or life-form was a subject that always took time. He could do it later or quickly, but the strength cultivated wouldn't be nearly as potent that way. Gaara needed to take this to his tower ___now_. Even the blood that was still dripping from the sack shouldn't be wasted! The sorcerer started to leave, cloak billowing as he turned his back on Lee.

The sorcerer's dismissal stung as Lee struggled not to lose focus, the man's words muffled from the thunder outside and the pounding in his ears. Gaara already had his back turned to him and was walking away when his vision went dark. Was Gaara so focused on getting power that he'd leave him here?

___He doesn't care about you. It's power he wants and which of us has the most?_ the demon whispered in his mind.

Lee's good leg finally gave out from under him and he slid down to the floor, tentacles receding into his skin as the chimera's poison worked its way through his blood. Gaara's name pooled in his mouth but it was too late to cry out to him. Gaara's footsteps were the last thing he heard before he fell over and succumbed to the darkness wrapping around him.

One of the gremlins heading over to clean Lee shrieked when it wiped away the mud on Lee's arm only to see flayed skin and bloody muscle. The mud pooling around Lee was thick and black but it couldn't mask the metallic smell emanating from the smith's body.

It was an hour and half later that Gaara finally emerged from his tower, weary from his work, but satisfied. He'd expected to find a gremlin outside his door since he hadn't let any enter while he was busy, but he was surprised at the extreme alarm that it was showing as it insisted he follow. Lee was still in the lobby of the mansion, laid out on the floor as the gremlins rushed about him. He had been cleaned, and it looked like they'd tried to stop the bleeding, but the creatures weren't meant to practice healing or medicine. The sorcerer's blood ran cold as he finally realized just how badly Lee was hurt.

He strung curses under his breath as Gaara struggled to close the wounds, but there was evil poison at work. In the time it took him to cover the exposed bone in Lee's left leg with flesh again, the other injuries had progressively worsened. He sent gremlins back to his tower to fetch every scrap of medical materials he possessed. Gaara could heal better than most because of the basics he'd learned with his power, but this was out of his league.

Gaara sent a number of gremlins into the town, to track down and return with Sakura Haruno.

* * *

"Shhh he's waking up. I need another batch of poultice. Hey you, don't touch his bandages!"

A series of tiny chatter followed as Lee felt a hand brushing off gremlins from his body. His brows furrowed in confusion, wondering what sort of dream he was having. Sakura's voice came soothingly next to him as he blinked open his eyes to darkness.

"It's okay Lee. It's Sakura. You're going to be okay." She placed something cold on his arm then spread it on his leg, and suddenly Lee's world came rushing into focus with a shot of pain. He cried out as the skin on his arm and leg knitted back together, forcibly closing over the raw muscle underneath.

Eyes wide, he shot up on the bed before Sakura firmly pushed him back down. "The forest! I need to find the chimera!" he hissed out, looking wildly around the room.

"No." Gaara stood on the other side of the bed, looking down at Lee's body with strain on his face. His arms were crossed, his fingers clutching at the sleeves of his cloak until his skin turned white. He leaned forward where Lee could see him better. "You're home now. You already fought the chimera, and brought back the parts I needed. You did well."

Gaara unwrapped his arms from his body and dared to touch Lee's hot forehead, sweaty and sick with the pain in his body. The sorcerer clenched and unclenched his jaw as he tried not to let his inner anxiousness show, choosing to seem impassive in front of Sakura.

Lee's heart beat fast in his chest at the flashes of memory- leaves slapping against his face and skin, the rain beating down against his back as he hunted a creature that stalked him in turn. He stared up at Gaara, brows furrowed, before he caught Gaara's hand on his forehead and held on to it like a lifeline. "The chimera- I killed it. And others...there were people too. How did I get home?" He gasped out, head reeling from memories of blood and screams, some of it his own. All he could remember from last night though, was making his way up to the mansion on the hill and the sight of Gaara's back to him. The latter speared through his chest whenever he went back to it.

Sakura cleared her throat from the other side of the bed. Unfazed by the gremlins and finally aware that demonic energy resided in Lee, she chose to stay silent about Gaara's hand on Lee's forehead. For now. "Don't try to move too much. Or think for that matter. You're still recovering from your injuries last night." She took a washcloth from the basin, its water pink from blood, and laid the cloth over Lee's arm to cool the swelling. Turning to the sorcerer, her jaw stiffened before she addressed him. "The rest of his wounds need to be kept clean. His skin is mending itself already, but Lee's prone to infection until he's completely healed. The chimera's poison is still in his system so he'll need a lot of bedrest for the rest of the week."

"I'll see that he's taken care of," Gaara responded to Sakura vaguely, nodding a small fraction. The sorcerer didn't like Lee's disorientation or the panic in his eyes. "You're going to be fine, Lee. Your mission is over now, you have control of yourself again. You can rest and heal for the rest of the week, and we won't leave town until you're back to your full strength again."

Now that Gaara had the chimera's power in his possession, he felt ready to leave town and begin the quest to find Shukaku. It would have to wait until Lee could move again, and possibly longer so that the smith could recover some of his stamina, but it would be worth the time.

Nodding at Gaara curtly, Sakura set the poultice for Lee's wounds on the table and gently touched Lee's shoulder. The smith turned his eyes towards her but just as quickly brought them back to Gaara. Fighting back the nausea and disgust at the demon's aura, Sakura sent a healing wave of energy into Lee's body to help with his recovery. "I've done all I can. Call for me at the clinic if something happens," she said, getting to her feet and gathering her things. Lowering her voice, she shot Gaara a glare. "I hope to god you know what you're doing. Lee is a good man." She left soon after, glad to be away from the mansion and the horror of seeing Lee torn up last night.

Gaara sighed, feeling unusually heavy as the doors swung shut with a bang being the healer, and rattled on their hinges from the force. After that there was a long, ringing silence in the air, broken only by the shuffling of the gremlins and Lee's breath, which still sounded a ragged in Gaara's ears. The sorcerer sat on the edge of the bed next to Lee and touched the smith's forearm.

"How do you feel, Lee? Are you thirsty?"

Sakura's departure didn't elicit any response from Lee, but once she was gone, it was like something snapped in him. He ignored her warning and grabbed Gaara's shirt, pulling himself up with the hold and wrapping his good arm around the sorcerer's shoulders tightly. Once he had Gaara against him, he shut his eyes and let out a deep breath. This was what he needed. The familiar weight and smell of the sorcerer assured him that he was finally home.

"Yes. Water would be nice," he murmured, losing some of the panic in his voice as he spoke. "I feel like my whole left side was gnawed on by a dragon and spat out."

Gaara blinked and inhaled sharply in surprise as Lee manhandled him, a furrow appearing between his brows with confusion. "You shouldn't be moving like this," the sorcerer chastised, but there was no real reprehension in his tone. He slowly wrapped an arm around Lee's good side in return, turning to face him better. He gestured briefly at a gremlin that was peering over the other side of the bed, and sent it running for a glass of water.

"I hadn't realized how badly you were hurt when you first arrived. I didn't notice the injuries through the mud." Gaara sighed, disliking the smell of blood and antiseptic on the other man. He threaded his free hand through Lee's hair gently. "It's good that you survived, tonight. A lesser man would have died hours ago."

Lee's eyes opened half-way, lidded as they stared at the other end of the room. Gaara must have had the gremlins move him to his room. The hearth was out, but he felt hot like a fever raging through his body. Now that he was calming down, he was starting to remember everything that happened over the past two days, and the demon's last words to him before he passed out.

"A lesser man does not have a demon inside him," he said quietly, leaning into the fingers moving through his hair. Gaara's words gave little comfort even if they praised him for his survival. The pain from his injuries and the things he saw...did the last two days left him grasping at the extent Gaara would sacrifice for power and wondering where he stood with Gaara- a friend or just the demon's host. "I saw...what the demon did. What it had to do to gather strength. Do you truly need all this power, Master Gaara?"

Gaara paused for a few long seconds, thinking about how he should respond. He lifted his chin when he noticed that the gremlin was back with a tall mug of water. The creature reached over the bed with its short arms, meeting Gaara halfway as the sorcerer took the mug and held it before the smith.

"Yes. I do. In fact, I wish I had even more power at my disposal." Gaara leaned forward and pressed his lips firmly against Lee's forehead. It was less like a kiss and more like a simple press of contact to judge the temperature of Lee's fever. He slid his face down, pressing their cheeks together and frowning softly at the strength of the heat radiating from Lee's skin. He murmured his words. "There is something I need to do, Lee. There's a man I need to destroy, and I've spoken to the demon about this already. If I faced him alone, he would kill me. Before you left two days ago, that man would have been strong enough to kill even the demon inside you. With this new power however, I can defeat him. I ___have_ to."

Gaara leaned back and lifted the mug. "Drink."

There was a twist to Lee's mouth and a downcast look in his eyes as he took the mug and drank it. Water soothed his parched throat. He didn't remember eating or drinking during the last two days. He drained half the mug before he coughed as water caught in his throat. "But...___why?_ What has this man done to you that you need to kill him?" He held the mug in his good hand, slowly laying himself back down on the bed.

He stared up at the ceiling of the ballroom, its paint black from the continued smoke and soot that rose whenever he worked on a commission. "You said we are leaving town. How long are we going to be gone?"

The sorcerer sighed again looked over Lee's bandages briefly while he thought. He didn't touch them, since they weren't ready to be changed yet, but it gave him something to gaze at. "I don't know how long it will take. A year at most, if he runs and forces us to give chase. Mere weeks if everything goes smoothly."

A brief crackle of static lit the air as Gaara ran his fingers through his red locks, combing down the strands that stood on end. "The man that we will be hunting is someone I have known since I was a very small child. He taught me how to perform magic, brew potions, and make... sacrifices." Gaara's voice was monotonous as he spoke, and his eyes betrayed no emotions. "It might be hard for you to understand, but he's a very evil breed of creature. He's given three human offerings for every one cow or goat I've sacrificed in this town. He's insane, and has developed cults to worship him and bring him power. But he's getting old, Lee. His mind is more feeble now that it ever has been. Your demon is going to curse him, and if we can perform this right, I will be able to strip him of all his power and take it into myself."

Lee covered his eyes with his arm briefly. He'd been living with Gaara for enough time that he was used to the sorcerer talking about ways to get power. But this was the first that he'd ever spoken about killing someone with it. Living in a town like theirs made it hard to believe anyone would do the things Gaara was describing. "And what will you do if a year is not enough? The world is a big place. What if you fail to kill him?" He asked, lowering his arm to look Gaara in the eye. "Master Gaara, you have not even asked if I am willing to just drop everything for a year to chase after this man you want to kill."

That day he asked Gaara to take him along when he traveled, it had been a dream of moving from city to city, crossing to the next country even as an adventure. Nothing like what Gaara had planned now. "I enjoy being with you and I want to help you if you need it, but it sounds like you are willing to destroy yourself for this."

Gaara stared at Lee and blinked slowly as he registered what Lee was saying to him. He sighed and put a hand on Lee's good knee through the thin blankets. "This is a stressful topic. We have plenty of time to talk about it while you heal. You should finish your water, and I have a potion for you to drink. Miss Haruno was sure to instruct me on which of my brews would help you now and which wouldn't."

Standing and subtly stretching his legs, Gaara began to pick up the odd pieces of shredded cloth that had been stripped from Lee's injured body and dropped. Most of it was caked in blood and mud, or falling apart from his fights. Gaara sent the gremlins away with the dirty bowls of poultices and used bandages, and instructed them to bring back fresh supplies, as well as more clean water.

"You shouldn't eat anything yet," Gaara informed the smith as he returned to Lee's side and triple checked his bandages and pillows. "But you can drink as much as you want. I'm going to be nearby to watch over you for now. Do you want me to give you something that will help you sleep?"

Disappointment filled Lee's face at the indifference Gaara showed over his concerns. Even after all they'd been through, Gaara would still put his ambitions over everything. Lee brought the mug to his lips and drank the rest of the liquid carefully as he tilted his head up. "No. I want some time alone now. To rest," he said, averting his eyes and setting the mug on the table. "Thank you for watching over me, but I think it is best if I have time to myself."

The reminder that Sakura had been there gripped Lee in sudden worry. She had known about the chimera and no doubt felt the demon inside him. He would need to talk to her once he was able to walk around again. "I hope killing the chimera was worth it."

Gaara hesitated and his fingers twitched over the bed. He pulled his hands back to his side and nodded. He pulled a small orange vial from his pocket and set it on the nightstand next to Lee's empty mug, which a gremlin was already snatching away to refill with new water. "Alright. Try to rest. I will be back at daylight to help refresh your bandages."

The sorcerer paused briefly as he looked down at Lee, before stooping low and finally giving him a real kiss. It was short and only caught the corner of Lee's lips, but it was cool compared to the flushing fever of the smith's skin. It tasted metallic of blood and bitter medicine. "Drink your potion," was all Gaara said further before turning and exiting the ballroom. The door closed with a mere graceful click this time, instead of the ringing bang that had echoed behind Sakura.


	8. Chapter 8

Four days of bedrest and Lee was going crazy.

There was nothing to ___do_ in the mansion and Gaara forbade him from even getting off the bed unless he was there to help him- and make sure he didn't try to work like the last time he was left alone. He'd memorized the crack lines on the ceiling and the strange, surreal shapes formed by mold and soot on the walls. Spending his time reading in bed as Gaara suggested, just wasn't something he enjoyed either.

The smith plucked at the covers of his bed, twitching with every creak of the old mansion in hopes that Gaara would be back from town already. "Haaahhh! I am so bored. Can I at least have my hammers to exercise with?" he complained to the gremlin watching over him. The creature shook its head at him resolutely and crossed its arms on top of the pile of socks at his feet- the silver lining in his enforced bed rest. One morning, he'd woken up to find his missing socks given back to him as a 'get well' present from the gremlins. A surprising gesture outside of their troublemaking nature.

"My arm feels better already! It is all in believing in the power of youth!" Lee sat up higher, wrinkling his nose at the pillow behind him. He was starting to despise the feeling of soft fluff behind him. "Master Gaara might not be back until later. I do not want to sleep the whole afternoon away."

"You're not going to ruin my hard work on you by injuring yourself again." One of the double doors of the ballroom swung open with Sakura already fixing Lee a stern look. Shutting the door behind her gently, she headed over to the smith's bed with a bag in tow.

"Miss Sakura!" Lee perked up at her approach, grinning at the healer in surprise. "What are you doing here? I was not expecting a visit from you."

The healer's stern expression lost some of its edge at Lee's enthusiasm and she allowed herself a weary sigh. She sidled up to the smith's bed and hauled a bag over her shoulder and onto the mattress with a light thump.

"Sorcerer Gaara sent me," she informed him. "I was planning on coming up to check on your injuries sooner, but I was kept busy at the clinic. I finally took a personal walk, and I bumped into your sorcerer. He asked me to come up and make sure you were in bed like you're supposed to be. I heard that you've been aggravating your wounds."

Sakura shot Lee a sharp look with that statement and began to rummage through her bag of medical utensils.

"That is not true! I have been in bed all week-" Lee paused, blinking. "Aside from that time I jogged around the room. But that is just to get my blood flowing again." He watched in interest as Sakura laid out fresh bandages and that nasty, painful poultice she insisted on spreading on his skin. Swallowing to whet his dry throat, he sat up higher. "How are you, Miss Sakura? We have not really talked since the last time I saw you in town."

Lee wasn't oblivious to Sakura's aversion to the demon inside him. It made him all the more grateful that she was still talking to him now and didn't act any different from before. "And um...about last week. Thank you for tending to my wounds."

"I'm fine, Lee. Thank you for asking. And you are welcome." Sakura laid back the blankets that covered Lee's legs and began to slowly unwind the old bandages that ran up from his ankle to his mid thigh. She shuddered violently as the demonic aura in Lee's body touched hers, making her stomach churn. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. She swallowed and turned her eyes back up to Lee's face with a hint of a frown while her hands worked.

"Is there anything you want to talk to me about, Lee? A lot has... happened to you while I was away. And since we bumped into each other at the market, for that matter."

Holding still as Sakura changed the bandages, Lee shooed away some of the gremlins trying to look at her work. He caught the shudder and the frown as she touched his leg, and it pained him to see a close friend look so uncomfortable around him. Her questioning was understandable, but Lee wished that she would just talk about lighter things with him instead of bringing up his situation.

"I do not really want to talk about what happened to me," Lee said, scratching at the ends of the bandages on his arm. The newly healed flesh itched whenever the bandages stayed on too long. "I think you know why I live with Master Gaara now and what lives inside me."

"Don't scratch. If it iches, it's because it's healing." Sakura moved closer and covered Lee's fingers with her own. Her tone was stern, but her expression softened somewhat. She sighed and paused her work to lean against the edge of the bed and talk to her friend directly. "I wasn't going to ask about what hurt you. I could tell that it upset you, and your body ___is _healing. But... I'm worried about you, Lee. Gaara told me a little, but I have the feeling that he left out a lot."

Lee's brows furrowed in thought. He was glad that Gaara didn't go around telling people about what happened to him, but the doubts he'd been having about the sorcerer also spawned questions about how much Gaara really cared to know about his well-being. "What did he say about me?" he asked, curling his fingers around hers and meeting her eyes. One time, long ago, he'd have been ecstatic to have Sakura holding his hand. Now he just valued the feeling of friendship from the gesture, along with thinking that Gaara's eyes were a much darker shade of green than the woman's. "There are things...you might not want to know, Miss Sakura. I have had months to adjust to what has happened to me, but it is something that would frighten anyone."

Sakura nodded slowly, trying to convey that she understood what Lee had gone through, to a point. Lee's tone sounded weary to her, and disheartened. "I've seen a lot since I've been traveling, Lee. During my training, I had to deal with a lot of things that made me cry. Doctor Tsunade didn't spare me anything. I had to face things that are unheard of in this little town, and treat people I knew would be dead the next day anyway. Children, sometimes."

She slowly rubbed circles across Lee's knuckles with her thumb, tilting her head as she held his gaze. "All that Gaara told me was that a mistake was made in his home and had led to your possession. He didn't tell me why you stay here, or why you seem to have accepted your situation. I don't understand, Lee. Why don't you talk to the priest? There must be something that can help you, right?"

"Father Genivi has good intentions, but he is more likely to lead a mob against Master Gaara and I than help me. Even Master Gaara cannot do anything about it because it was a deal I made," Lee said, rubbing the back of his head with his good hand. It was easier to pretend that everything was normal when no one was asking about it. It was even easier when he was enjoying his time with Gaara and learning new things. A frown crossed Lee's face, the reality of his possession coming to light.

Squeezing Sakura's hand tighter, Lee sighed heavily. "Okay. I will talk, though I do not believe it will help matters. I...do not know how to explain what happened. I just wanted to be there when Master Gaara summoned his demon. He said it was one of his goals, and I wanted to be there for him when he achieved this feat. Things just went...I do not know. Downhill. Insane." He averted his eyes and stared down at their hands, forced to look back at that night.

"I saved him. The demon was going to break free and take him instead. It offered me a chance to take Gaara's place and I took it."

"You allowed the demon to possess you?" Sakura's fingers paused briefly in Lee's, not entirely sure how she should react. Lee had accepted a scary fate into his life so that he could take another person's place. Somehow... that seemed just like something her friend would do, without even considering that he shouldn't. Sakura allowed a weak smile to pull at her lips as she shook her head. "You are... ___so_ reckless, you know that? You're lucky you weren't killed."

Lee chuckled at that and met Sakura's gaze again. "It was worth it. I would not have been able to live with myself if I had left Master Gaara to that fate. With the demon inside me, I had to move in to the mansion so it would not be able to go against Master Gaara's control. But I was able to get to know him well because of it as well. You would be surprised to know how much his untouchable image is false."

"I... I think I find that very hard to believe." Sakura's lighter manner flickered briefly, still uncomfortable with the demon's aura in the back of her mind, and not appreciating the thought of Sorcerer Gaara as approachable. As long as they were going to be sitting here for a while, Sakura thought she shouldn't put off her work anymore. Holding Lee's left hand in one of hers, she extended his arm and began to unravel his bandages with her other hand. "To me... Sorcerer Gaara seems cold. He was tense when I came to help you the other night, and he even hinted that he would curse me if I let you die, but his expression didn't seem to change the whole time. Sometimes I think he isn't human."

Lee winced as the bandages were peeled from his skin. His arm was still red and a little swollen as it healed. The chimera's poision was weak in his system now, and surviving it would make him stronger in the long run, but for now it was keeping him from healing quickly. "That sounds like something he would say. He does not show his emotions to everyone. Most times, it is easy to miss his expression unless you look out for it." A small fond smile tugged on Lee's lips despite the pain of having his arm moved. "He does not always smile when he is happy, but his eyes shine brighter and his lips always twitch when he finds something amusing."

A real grin finally stretched across Lee's mouth. "The first month I moved in, he and I got into a lot of fights. You would not want to cross him when he is angry, but it was also fun to see him lose his cool and argue with me."

Sakura slowly untied the far end of the bandages and pulled off the last strip. Lee's skin was an unhealthy shade of red from his forming scars and irritation to his wounds, but there was no sign of infection and that was good. Sakura reached for her supply of poultice behind her on the bed and began to gently dab at the problem areas across Lee's arm.

"I guess you couldn't help becoming close to him if you live in the same house for long enough. Even if it is a big house." She glanced around the ballroom at Lee's workspace and the many gremlins who had taken residence in the rafters or around the smith's bed. She gave a warning scowl to a gremlin that looked like it wanted to poke its head through her bag, making it scurry away before turning back to Lee and allowing her wearing smile to return. Her eyes still held a note of worry for him, however. "You almost make it sound like you enjoyed being here."

Lee's eyes softened at the concern Sakura had. Shrugging and hissing as his arm was moved, he squeezed her hand again. "If you get past how empty and haunted it seems, it is not a bad place to stay at. It has been a long time since I have lived with anyone after Uncle Gai died. And Master Gaara... he is a good friend. Even if he is sometimes insensitive to other people. I think he is too used to having gremlins for company instead of another human being."

Knowing that didn't help the unhappiness he still felt about Gaara and his quest for power. Things hadn't been right between them since that night he came back, at least, not the easy camaraderie they had. Gaara's dismissal left Lee to deal with his emotions himself. He wanted to talk to someone about it and Sakura was his dear friend. But he knew he still had to be careful about telling her things she might not accept or understand.

"Miss Sakura...Sakura," he began haltingly, licking his lips with furrowed brows and the smile fading away. "I know what I did was rash, and I am paying the consequences now. Having the demon inside me is easier to accept if I think about what could have happened instead. I just do not know if Master Gaara sees any worth in what I did outside of him having the demon to control."

The healer's smile dampened somewhat when she noted the note of doubt in Lee's voice. She nodded slowly in thought as she began to gently rub more of the poultice across the stretch of Lee's skin, layering it on thickly and working it into the pores of his wounds. She tried to send a rush of energy through their joined hands to help with some of the pain. "Well... you know him better than I do. But if I were him, I would want to make it up to you in any way possible. You did a big thing for him, you know? You saved his life. You've gone through a lot of suffering because of him."

Sakura reached for the clean bandages she'd laid beside her bag. She wiped the poultice off her hands and let go of Lee's hand so that she could begin re-wrapping his bandages, starting at the shoulder. "He must be the densest, most selfish person alive if he really doesn't appreciate you."

"Master Gaara is not selfish!" Lee protested, offended for Gaara even when Sakura's words rang true. He lost some of his steam right after, lowering his head and clenching his good hand. "He is just focused on his goals. His ambitions are greater than anyone else's in the town and he just has little time to think of others. I am sure there is a part of him that...that thinks of me."

Lee snapped his mouth shut, nearly biting his own tongue as he tensed, staring hard at the bed covers. That wasn't what he'd wanted to say at all but it was exactly what he'd been stressing over.

Sakura paused and looked at her friend carefully. She could tell that this was eating at him. It made her want to smack the sorcerer across the face or punch him the way Tsunade had taught her. ___Then_ maybe he'd get off his high horse and listen. "I can tell that you have mixed feelings about this. You're right, I'm sure he just isn't good at... at communicating. Emotions and such especially, like you said."

She finished wrapping the bandages all the way to Lee's hand, where she tied them into a neat knot and tucked it under the wrappings across his palm. She slid down from where she'd been sitting on the bed and moved back to where she'd gotten halfway through unwrapping his leg. "Just don't let yourself get too stressed out about this, Lee. It's bad for your health, and it makes healing harder. You don't want to give me more work than I already have, right?" The ghost of a smile returned to show that she was joking.

The attempt to lighten their conversation had Lee exhaling and smiling faintly as well. "No. If I have to spend another week in bed, there will not be enough sanity in me to stress about anything." The smile widened as he flexed his hand and found the new bandages much more comfortable than the previous soiled wraps. "Thank you for visiting me and talking, Miss Sakura. I am sure I will make a speedy recovery because of your passion for healing and my naturally youthful nature."

Flashing the woman a thumbs up, Lee thanked whatever gods were listening that he still had a friend like Sakura even when his life was turned upside down by the sorcerer and the demon possessing him.


	9. Chapter 9

Gaara couldn't help the slight twist of displeasure in his lips as he sidled up to the innkeeper. The inside of the tavern was dusty and dark, with a sticky feeling to the floor that told of spilt beer. There were numerous men at the bar, drinking with each other and talking loudly. There were a few women in the corner, wearing short colorful dresses and far too much make up. They leaned back and thrust out their chests, clearly here for business.

"I need a room," Gaara said to the man behind the counter. He was tall and bulky, cleaning a glass with a dirty yellow rag. He didn't look up before responding to the redhead.

"An hour, or all night?"

Gaara almost rolled his eyes. He wasn't here for a woman. "I need a place to sleep for the night. Preferably a ___clean_ room."

The innkeeper finally glanced up, snorting lightly before glancing at the girls in the far corner. "Fine. A silver piece per night, per bed. We'll give you an unused room."

"One silver piece, then." Gaara pulled out his change purse and summoned the coin he needed. He thought it was ridiculous that he only got one bed for a silver piece. He handed it over and got a key in return. He sat on one of the stools and waited for Lee, who was supposed to be outside with their things.

A few minutes later, Lee pushed through the tavern doors, earning suspicious and dirty looks from the men and women inside with the way he towered over most of them. He had their things packed on his back after leading the horses they'd gotten to the stables. Wearing a cloak to ward off the cold, sturdy metal-toed boots and light leathers, Lee had dressed for the long hunt they'd be on.

Spotting Gaara at the bar, he made his way past the tables and offered him a smile. "Were you able to get a room? I had to pay a little extra to have the horses fed, but the stablehand assures me they will be safe for the night." His arrival had the innkeeper raising his brows at them, but the man simply continued to clean glasses.

"Yes. I believe our room is upstairs." Gaara glanced at the innkeeper for confirmation, earning a nod despite the small frown of thought on the man's face. One bed for two men? No wonder Gaara hadn't wanted a woman.

The sorcerer stood and lead the way to the stairwell at the far end of the building. The smell of tobacco from some of the men at the bar was irritating him, making him grateful to be away from it. On the second floor, he used his room key to open door number six, which was at the far end of the hall. He stepped inside and held the door open for Lee.

Shuffling through the small doorway, Lee set their things down on the floor with a thump and arched his back forward until there was a satisfying crack. They'd been traveling the whole day after leaving their town early in the morning, and he was glad to have a soft bed waiting for them. "Hahh... how much further are we going before we reach the city?" He rubbed his left arm. Sakura's and Gaara's efforts had paid off with his arm and leg completely healed, but there was still a phantom pulse whenever he touched it. "This is the furthest I have ever traveled in my life!"

"Another day or so, if we stick to our current path." Gaara looked over his shoulder at Lee, he felt a small surge of yearning as the other man stretched his long limbs. There had been a strong tension between them ever since Lee had returned from the demon's mission. It had put a strain on their feelings for each other, and Gaara hadn't wanted to act while the smith was still healing. He wished things could feel the same between them as it had before.

The sorcerer stepped up to the foot of the bed and sent a small wave of his magic over the mattress, checking it for lice or bugs that he knew often infested these places. Luckily this one was clean. "I'm glad they didn't give us a room that the whores use. It would take an hour for me to clean in here, even with magic."

Lee chuckled and sat at the chair next to the room's window, missing the look Gaara threw his way. He propped one leg over the other as he took off his boots. "You would have demanded your money back. I have always heard about places like this, but I never thought I would stay over in one. I feel sorry for the women who have no other work but to sell themselves." Their town had its own share of prostitutes, but it was kept hush-hush, unlike in other towns or cities. Lee set aside his boots and shrugged off his cloak, working on the light leather clothes Gaara had insisted he wore as protection. It wasn't as thick as the reinforced armors he sometimes made on rare commissions, but it still chafed despite the cotton clothes he had underneath.

"When we reach the city, I want to visit their blacksmith and see what kind of crafts they have," he said, pausing before he continued with a subdued tone. "If you will give me some time off from your quest."

Gaara hesitated as he looked at Lee's back from the corner of his eye. He slipped off his dark cloak and laid it on the edge of a small dresser. He untied his boots with a quick pull of his fingers and toed them off. "I think I can give you a few hours to yourself when we get to the city. I need to do some research and get in touch with some people, and you won't need to be there for that. I don't expect to find him so soon."

The sorcerer slipped off his shirt and tossed it on top of his cloak. He sidled up behind Lee's seat and slowly laid his hands on the smith's shoulders. He rubbed the back of the Lee's neck with his thumbs, trying to help him relax after their long day together. Gaara swallowed and spoke in a characteristically even tone. "How are you feeling? Is the trouble with your limbs completely gone?"

Gaara's hands were warm against his neck. Lee tensed at the contact and the sorcerer's presence behind him. There hadn't been any intimate contact between them during the time he was healing. Even the day Lee was declared fit for travel by Sakura and he'd quietly agreed to leave town with the sorcerer. Still, the pressure working on his neck was nice and he slowly relaxed under Gaara's hands. "Yes, it is gone. I feel much better after the help Miss Sakura gave."

Lee kept his eyes on the wooden floor, hyper aware of Gaara and the heat of his body nearby. There was a lot left unsaid between them, and Lee didn't want to bring up anything while they were traveling together. "You do not need to worry. I will be ready when you need me. When you need the demon. Its power gives me strength."

"I know that." Gaara frowned and held back a sigh. The demon was always at the forefront of Lee's mind when they spoke now. Gaara wanted to talk to Lee about something else. Anything else. This strain between them was draining him, making him feel weary. He slipped his fingers under the collar of Lee's shirt and began to slowly knead at his shoulders and chest. Lee's body was always warm and pleasant to touch. "Have you been practicing any of the things I taught you? It's been a little while since I've checked on your progress."

Lee shut his eyes as Gaara's hands reached his chest. The sorcerer's hands were soft, used to the sizzle of magic instead of taking the brunt of manual labor. They sparked physical memories of their time together and the lust that the demon always encouraged. It was easy to suppress his urges when Gaara wasn't touching him like this and when he was feeling the way he did.

He caught Gaara's hands through his shirt, just holding them still for a moment. "I practiced what you taught me while I was in bed the whole week," he said, at the same time putting up the intangible barrier Gaara had shown him to ward off anyone trying to probe his thoughts and emotions through touch. Exhaling softly, he looked up at Gaara, tilting his head back until he could see the sorcerer. "We should get some rest. It has been a long day."

Gaara blinked down at Lee slowly, feeling something he couldn't identify twist in his chest uncomfortably. He hadn't been attempting to see into Lee's emotions yet, but he'd just been considering it when he felt the barrier under his fingers. The quiet, careful look in Lee's eyes made Gaara swallow again uneasily, though he nodded in response to the smith's comment. His fingers twitched under Lee's hand.

"You're right. I think we're both tired." The sorcerer slid his hand back up Lee's chest and shoulders, pausing to rub his neck with his thumbs just once more before sighing and letting him go. Gaara dug briefly through one of their bags until he found a pair of loose cotton pants he sometimes liked to sleep in, and changed into those from his tight leather. He moved to the mattress and sat on the far edge, looking over his shoulder at Lee. There was only one bed.

The uneasiness on Gaara's face had Lee biting his lower lip from inside his mouth. As much as he hated the heavy tension between them and could see how it was affecting both of them, he just couldn't say what the sorcerer was thinking when he looked at him like that. The demon hounded him even with this.

He met Gaara's eyes briefly before his gaze slid down inevitably to his bare chest and arms. The other man's touch still lingered on his shoulders and chest, amplifying an ache to be close to him again. No matter the weight of his doubts and emotions, he still wanted Gaara. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he stood up and stripped off his shirt, heading over to the other side of the bed and pulling at the thin woolen blanket. "Come here," he murmured, sliding under the blanket and offering a place in his arms with a hand on Gaara's hip. Maybe it would be enough to just hold each other to relieve some of the tension between them.

Gaara nodded and felt the coil in his chest loosen, just a little bit. He didn't know how he would have reacted if Lee had refused to share the bed with him. He slipped under the blanket on his side and moved closer to Lee. It wasn't until he was pressed against the other man's warm, comfortable body that he realized the air was cold today. He shivered once and pressed his fingers to Lee's chest, trying to warm them.

The bed wasn't the smallest available, but it wasn't large either. The bed in the master bedroom of Gaara's mansion was easily sized for a king, with enough room for them both to stretch out and roll around once they'd fallen asleep. However, they would have to stay close together tonight. Gaara shared the wide pillow with Lee at the head of the bed, their faces not far apart as they looked at each other. The sorcerer allowed an arm to stay close to Lee, half wrapped around him and touching just to feel him there. He slowly lifted his other hand, touching Lee's chin and tracing his strong jaw bone almost with a sleepy curiosity.

"You seem tired," Gaara murmured.

"It has been a long day." Lee shut his eyes, just feeling Gaara's wandering touch. His arms were wrapped around the other man loosely under the blanket, warmth gathering where their bodies pressed against each other. Reaching out, he put out the candle on the bedside table and left their faces shadowed under the moonlight shining in from the windows. He wished they could leave any conversation for the morning, when it was easier to shelve away thoughts and emotions. "Though I am glad I am no longer confined to a bed."

Gaara nodded slightly in an agreeable manner. He'd seen how it had driven Lee up a wall to hold still for so long, unable to be out and active. "That's good," he murmured simply.

The sorcerer ran his fingertips along Lee's temple, feeling where his face met his hairline before sliding his fingers through Lee's hair. Sometimes the smith's hair reminded Gaara of strands of silk, soft to the touch and yet strong. Gaara brushed Lee's hair away from his face, then slid his hand back down Lee's jaw, neck, and chest. The strength corded under his fingertips was beautiful and seductive. Gaara leaned in a placed a small, unassuming kiss just above Lee's collar bone, repetitive of the first kiss he'd given when Lee had finally admitted his desire.

Lee's breath hitched at the gentle kiss, not expecting it right now when his judgement was clouded by doubts and fatigue. This wasn't the time or place to confront Gaara with his feelings. But there was no harm in taking comfort where he could. Swallowing once, he scooped Gaara's back and pulled the man flush against him, burying his face in Gaara's hair and inhaling deeply as he wondered when Gaara started smelling like home.

"Gaara." The name was just breathed out quietly. Not a question or a call to attention. Lee bowed his head and pressed their foreheads together. His eyes were slightly open but his gaze was on Gaara's lips.

The sorcerer hummed quietly in response, blinking his lidded eyes and enjoying the warmth trapped between their bodies as they held each other. Lee's eyes were so dark, but distinct under the moonlight. Gaara leaned closer subtly, and tilted his head when their noses lightly bumped. His breath hitched and his eyes closed as he pressed their lips softly together. Gaara's hand had migrated around Lee's body, and tightened against his back possessively. After everything that had happened recently, Gaara shouldn't be thinking that kissing Lee was ___easy-_ but then again, it was. In the moment it felt simple and delicious and ___right_.

The noise from the bar below was muted, fading away until all Lee could hear was Gaara's steady breathing and his own pulse pounding in his ears. As their lips met, he shut his eyes and simply enjoyed the intimacy shared between them as the sensation of soft, hot lips swallowed any thought and meaning.

* * *

A spark flashed from the tips of Lee's fingers before the smith breathed out in a whoosh and the magic zipped from his fingers towards the nearest tree, turning its bark a dark purple with the wayward energy. "Um...oops?" He flashed Gaara a wide, apologetic grin and shrugged. Around them, various patches of grass and trees were either an unnatural color or had transformed into small creatures that scuttled away. With the grove of trees shading the area and the tall grass providing enough cushion to lay down and relax, it was a welcome reprieve from their travels. They were close to the city now but it was still a few hours on horseback.

It was also the best place to practice what magic Gaara taught him. There were few opportunities for the sorcerer to continue Lee's lessons, with the number of travelers passing through the main roads. Lee was making slow progress, but the demon's amplified power already gave him an advantage over most fledgling acolytes.

"Yosh! That was better than before. I will surely get it right this time!" He took his place next to the flowing stream they'd rested at. Cupping his hands in the water, Lee concentrated on the faint energy flowing with the current, just as Gaara had taught him. "How did it go again?" he murmured, glancing at Gaara for approval as he drew in the energy from earth, water and air onto the center of his palms.

"If you get too excited, you'll spend as much energy as you're trying to gather," Gaara said, demeanor remained relaxed. He was sitting down and leaning back against a tree, keeping an eye on the horses as they grazed the grass along the water shore. He kept an eye on Lee as well, finding some amusement in the smith's manifestations of magic when his concentration was not quite correct. "Try creating a path in your mind, and allowing the natural energy in the current to be directed into your body instead of passing by. Sometimes it helps to have a mental image of a tunnel that catches the air or water and bends it toward you."

Gaara stretched lightly and felt a small crick in his shoulder pop, loosening his limb and making him sigh with relief. He was trying to teach Lee how to summon things from the mansion back home. He needed to learn how to use the energy around him before he did that however, so that he wouldn't always be draining away the strength in his body. If a spell went awry or cost more than he'd intended, he could accidentally trade away valuable life energy, or even cut years off his life span.

"A tunnel, huh?" Lee licked his lips and pictured a dark enclosed area with light at the end. This was supposed to be one of the easier spells he'd learn from Gaara. He didn't have the natural affinity for magic that the sorcerer had, but Gaara was patient with him and taught him to harness what power the demon lent him. The smile fell from his face as he concentrated on the traces of power that touched his skin and melded with the energy inside him. An idea struck him and he pictured the tunnel filling with all the elements he was drawing from, turning into a force that pounded against its walls and rushed towards the light at the end.

His hands shook in the water as energy gathered like a ball in his hands. In a sudden audible pop, the force of the spell erupted from Lee's hands right out of the water and sank into itself until it turned into living, breathing matter.

The gremlin that appeared flailed in the air for a second before it went plummeting down with a tiny cry right onto Lee's wet palms. It trembled before falling flat against Lee's hands in relief.

"Master Gaara! Did you see that?!" Lee practically bounced on his feet as he carried the gremlin towards where Gaara was lying on the grass. Eyes wide with excitement, he almost dropped the poor creature as he knelt down beside the sorcerer and showed it off like a child seeking praise from a parent. "I never thought I would truly be able to perform any kind of magic!"

Gaara sat up and raised a surprised brow at the little creature in Lee's hands. It still looked moderately confused, as if unsure of why it had been called or where it was. It's green little ears twitched back, and it's snub nose snuffled loudly. "You summoned a gremlin? You must have collected quite an amount of power."

Lifting the gremlin from Lee's hands, Gaara held it up and turned it over in the air a few times. It squawked indignantly at him and squirmed until Gaara handed it back. Sure enough, there were no parts missing and all its senses seemed intact. It was one of the smaller ones, too, hardly bigger than a cantaloupe. "Good job. I hadn't expected you to summon something alive. Was that on purpose or an accident?"

"I did not intend to summon anything in particular," Lee replied, helping the gremlin up on his shoulder and leaving it to hang on to his leathers. "Maybe...it is because when I think of your mansion, the gremlins are the first thing that comes to mind? They are everywhere." He sat down next to Gaara and reached for his pack. Breaking off a piece of honeyed bread from their rations, he offered it to the gremlin who immediately bit into it.

He grinned brightly at the praise Gaara gave him, accepting the man's subdued way of voicing approval. "Your imagery helped a lot. Thank you for teaching me, Wizard Gaara." There was a sparkle in Lee's eyes as he broke a piece of grass and tickled Gaara's neck with it.

"___Sorcerer_ Gaara," the man replied automatically, twitching away from the blade of grass being brandished at him. He was somewhat mortified to realize that his neck was flushing. Nobody needed to find out that he was ticklish! I would completely ruin his image as a powerful and intimidating sorcerer. He shook his head and covered the skin above his cloak collar with a hand. "So, what do you plan to do with your little gremlin? Let him stay on your shoulder all day, or send him back home?"

Lee's grin widened at the flush on Gaara's neck, but he refrained from pointing it out with Gaara so quick to cover it. "I think he would be excellent company. Besides, I do not trust myself to send him back in one piece." He craned his neck to glance at the gremlin on his shoulder, which had sat itself under Lee's shoulder strap, using it like a harness.

Seeing Gaara under the sun and surrounded by greenery was a treat. Usually the sorcerer kept out of the sun, preferring to stay indoors working in his lab or moving around the mansion's rooms. Here, his hair was a beautiful fiery red and the green of his eyes reflected their surroundings. It reminded Lee of the first time he saw Gaara- which was probably the first time he'd been attracted to him as well even if he only realized it later on. Leaning back against the tree, Lee propped his arms on his knees. "Let me know when you want to resume our travel."

"Not much longer now. I'll let the horses graze for a few more minutes and then lead them to the water before we leave." Gaara leaned forward to double check on their steeds, then fell back against the trunk again and closed his eyes with a sigh. He knew that their journey was a dark one, and they weren't even halfway through their troubles yet, but it felt peaceful right now. Lee's company was becoming more and more invaluable to the sorcerer, calming him in moments of frustration and supporting him when doubt made him hesitate. There were still odd moments when their connection was shaky or tense, but Gaara found that they passed with patience and gentle caresses.

Gaara turned his eyes toward Lee, briefly admiring the proud grin the smith still wore. He was well suited among the elements as they were, where nature bullied the weak and carved paths for the strong. Lee was a strong, picturesque figure of a man, and his eyes had never seemed more wild and alive than now. The sorcerer slid a hand to cover Lee's in the grass, squeezing briefly before he stood. Without a word, he moved toward the horses and reached for their reins.

With the silent signal to get moving, Lee pushed himself off the ground and dusted his pants. As he stepped forward to take his horse's reins, his smile turned into a smirk and he ducked in close to run his lips over the back of Gaara's neck, purposefully targeting the small fine hairs dotting the sorcerer's pale skin. Grabbing the reins, he quickly hoisted himself over the animal and smiled down innocently at the sorcerer. "Ready."

Gaara shuddered with the contact to his tickle spot. When he looked up and saw the 'innocence' on Lee's face he knew that the smith had done that on purpose. However, acknowledging Lee's wickedness would be acknowledging his own un-sorcerer like quality, so he chose to lift his chin with dignity and mount the other horse without responding. He'd get Lee back later, somehow.


	10. Chapter 10

The rain was falling in bucketfuls from the dark sky overhead. The wind was thankfully minimal, but nonetheless present and icy with cold. The horses were becoming more and more distressed as they strode, nickering and jumping at the sounds of thunderclaps overhead. Gaara had been keeping a barrier around himself and Lee to ward off the rain, but that wasn't making it any easier to see through the storm around them. Gaara leaned forward and murmured soothing words to his horse, petting its mane and trying to calm it as he peered ahead.

They had strayed from the main road not long after the storm had begun. They'd seen a worn path that twisted through the foliage and had followed it with hopes of finding an inn where they could bed down for the night. That was over an hour ago however, and there was still no building nor people in sight. The path was getting narrower as well, threatening to spook the horses with low roots and bushes.

"I see a building!" Gaara called over to Lee, raising his hand to point. White paint was visible through the trees as they rounded a corner. From a distance it looked like a small church.

"We should take shelter there!" Lee held his horse's reins rightly, patting its side to soothe its nerves as they made their way across muddy ground. It was getting harder to navigate through the treacherous side road with the rain softening the ground. There were a few stones that marked a once well-used path but it was overgrown with grass now. Sticking close to Gaara, he helped the sorcerer guide their horses towards the building as Lee squinted in the dim light from the orb Gaara had summoned earlier. The gremlin on his shoulder chattered in fright as another thunderclap boomed in the clouds above.

Once they were close to the structure, Lee swung off of his horse, losing his balance and falling into mud. "Ugh, these are the times I miss the sun the most," he groaned, forcing himself to get up with a wet sucking sound. He took hold of both horses' reins and led them towards the door of the building.

Up close, it was apparent that the place had long been abandoned. The doors were shabby and looked broken at the hinges, and opening them released a wet, musky smell. But it was better than being out in the rain. He offered his hand to Gaara once he'd tied the horses to a wooden beam near the entrance. "Do we still have enough food for the horses? I can scrounge up some wild grass now that I am dirty." He wrinkled his nose.

"That's a good idea. I'll treat them to some oats and take a look inside while you do that." Gaara nodded and accepted Lee's hand, hoisting himself up onto the low, half rotted deck before the door. He looked around, still trying to determine what type of place this used to be. There was a horse's shed on the other side of the building, but it was long caved in and overgrown with tall weeds.

Once Gaara had fed the steeds from a sack of oats carried in one of their saddle bags, he renewed a shield around them to protected from the rain, wind, and other animals on the chance they would be bothered. He shuddered once from the chill in the air and tightened the cloak around his shoulders. He stepped inside the dark building and wrinkled his nose at the musky smell. He raised a small illumination of gentle fire in his palm so that he could see inside, and his eyes widened at what he found.

Instead of church pews through the room, there was a huge black pentagram drawn across the floor. Dark streaks of old blood was smeared or splattered across the surface, obviously the result of sacrifices. There was a tall altar on the other side of the room, with a few books and loose scraps of parchment scattered about. Gaara spotted a ceremonial dagger just inside the circle of the pentagram, along with several other tools of the occult in meaningful places around the room.

Lee had the rest of their things in hand as he stepped through the doors as well. The first thing that hit him was the prickle of something malevolent in the air and the sense of dread he'd felt when he first saw the demon. His eyes adjusted to the light Gaara conjured and they widened at the things he saw, pupils expanding to black. Inside him, the demon looked through his eyes with mild curiosity.

"What is this place?" he whispered, sickened by the atmosphere and the dried blood on the floor. Black markings crawled along his arms in response to his agitation and the feeling that something was lurking in the shadows. He kept close to the sorcerer as they skirted the edges of the pentagram. The church pews were thankfully free of blood and symbols, if but dusty. Lee set their things down on the closest one to the entrance and shivered as the rain and mud cooled on his skin.

"I'm not entirely sure yet. Don't touch anything. Whoever made this mess left behind some dangerous energies," Gaara murmured. He glanced at the markings of the demon on Lee's skin and faintly hoped that it would help protect Lee if it came right down to it, though more often than not it could also attract more demonic energy.

The sorcerer stepped up to the altar and quirked his head at an open book that lay on top, with candles on either side which had melted down to low stumps of wax. Exposure to the elements had made the pages wrinkle and fade to almost nothing, but Gaara managed to pick out a few choice words from the paragraphs.

"Bijuu worship... this seems to be the ruins of one of the cults I mentioned before. I think they were in the process of making a sacrifice and gathering demons to present to Shukaku in offering. I believe their efforts went awry, and they either fled or died." Gaara glanced down at some of the other books scattered around the floor, texts obviously meant to teach various subjects of witchcraft. Some he recognized from his earliest days of training, and a couple others were subjects far too advanced for any novice to comprehend. "They may have even been sucked into a void. I'll have to close any gates they created and clean up the instruments before we leave."

Lee's brows furrowed in worry while he stayed back and let Gaara examine the scattered objects near the altar. If this Shukaku was really as evil as Gaara said he was, then whatever remnants of magic were left here would be the most malevolent and destructive. "Is it safe to do that?" He followed after Gaara a few seconds later, keeping his steps sure and steady so he wouldn't hit any of the items surrounding the pentagram. The demon's markings thrashed on his skin the closer he got to the pentagram and once he was next to the sorcerer, he put a hand on Gaara's shoulder.

"Careful, Master Gaara," he said, face slackening and a change coming to his voice as the demon took over. "There are beings still circling this place, looking for a way into this plane where a doorway was last opened." The demon sniffed the air and shut its eyes. "Those who followed Shukaku have long been slaughtered for their efforts. An end they deserved." It laughed dryly.

Gaara raised his eyes from the open pages of the scattered books and looked at Lee sideways. The writhing of the demon's marks on his skin was seemed almost fitting in this atmosphere, if only it didn't mar Lee's features like something sickly. "No soul deserves to be corrupted like that. It would have been better if they had been saved."

The sorcerer returned his attention to the pentagram, ignoring the hypocrisy in his own words. He knew he was a corrupted and damned soul. It was better to put that fact behind him. He payed close attention to the dark shadows in the corner of his eyes as he began to moved about the room and extend his senses. "And I am aware of the dark things luring about here, though I appreciate your warning. That is exactly why I need to clean this place before anyone unsuspecting stumbles upon it."

The demon grinned widely at Gaara's reply but simply stepped into the pentagram in a sudden swirl of darkness, like dark water moving around it. It began to suck whatever power was left in the pentagram, as well as swallowing the forces that were scratching at the thin veil between this plane and the other. "No sense in wasting power where it's at," it murmured as the storm continued to rage against the building outside.

* * *

It was late at night before the storm let up. The horses had stopped whinnying and had settled down on the grassy ground outside while Lee finished packing them down for the rest of the night. After making sure his wet clothes were hung up securely to dry, he stepped onto the deck again and moved past the open doors of the building.

Left only in his underwear and a blanket over his shoulders, Lee quickly moved over to the contained fire Gaara had conjured and settled onto one of the pews they'd moved around it. "I do not think it will rain again tonight. The skies are clear and I hear birds in the trees outside," he said optimistically to the sorcerer, rubbing his hands together. Whatever dark deeds had been performed in the building wasn't evident now that they'd cleaned the place up. All of the items that were used had been put away and burned, while the demon had ravaged the pentagram itself and took all the negative energy as its own power.

The only thing left was the faint bloodstains that were still visible on the walls and the floor, and the pentagram which was burned into the wood itself. "I hope we find the city soon tomorrow. I could eat a sheep!"

"Hn. It won't be much longer now." Gaara was sitting on the edge of a pew just a few feet away from the fire, warming his hands while he eyed the rugged lines of Lee's body and the delicious bronze tone of his bare skin. He swallowed as his mouth watered and shuddered briefly. The rush of discovering the dangerous remains of Shukaku's cult had passed, but Gaara's nerves still tingled vaguely. There was blatant yearning on his face as he gripped his cold fingers in front of his body.

"Maybe you should hang up the underwear to dry as well. It couldn't hurt." Gaara's voice was only half serious as he averted his eyes to the fire. His eyes only trailed away for a brief few seconds before dragging back to admiring Lee's body again.

"Much longer than...?" Lee trailed off as he caught what Gaara's last words were. Flushing, he rubbed the back of his head and laughed weakly, surprised at the desire he saw in the other man's eyes. Gaara's gaze caused a fire to burn in his body like the first time he'd given in to his urges. He could feel the demon stirring inside him, fat with power and purring temptations to stop holding back on the sorcerer.

Even when they'd slept together at the inn, they hadn't done anything beyond kissing and the long stretch of time since the demon's quest had given Lee a lot of time to think about what his relationship with Gaara really was. "This place is clean enough to walk around naked in, even with the demon boosting my body's capabilities. I will wash the rest of my things tomorrow when the sun is up," he said, skin prickling with the intensity of the sorcerer's attention.

Gaara gave a half-hearted shrug in response. Somehow he'd guess that Lee would say something like that. The man was dodging him, obviously uncomfortable. Gaara felt like he had been transported back in time, to after Lee had moved in but before he'd admitted his desire. They'd always been snatching glances or blushes near each other, and Gaara had been second guessing what exactly Lee wanted after all. The sorcerer wanted to sigh now, but instead forced his eyes to turn back to the fire, still feeling the heat in his veins from today's dangers and the sight of Lee's almost-naked body.

"If the weather were to clear up by sunrise, we could potentially reach the city by tomorrow afternoon."

Lee felt a rush of relief that was followed by guilt. Gaara might be the object of his confusion and melancholy, but he was also avoiding a confrontation with him. Gaara didn't deserve to be continuously rebuffed any more than Lee as he held on to his own beliefs about romance. Wrapping the blanket tightly around himself, he pressed his lips together tightly and tried to steer their conversation to lighter topics.

"Have you ever visited this city before? Maybe you can tour me around." He suggested.

"I've been there a couple times. I doubt we'll have time for that, however. I'll point you in the direction of a smithy before I visit some old contacts." Gaara twirled his finger in front of him briefly, stoking the fire and sending a small plume of bright ashes rising into the air. "We won't linger in the city for more than a day or so at the most."

It had been years since the last time Gaara had spoken with some of the people he planned to speak to. Some of them could very well be dead by now, or have moved to a new location. It was a risk he was willing to take however, confident that he would find the information he wanted with or without any help from anyone besides Lee. His mind was set, and he was not going to give up until he'd located Shukaku and killed him, or died trying.


	11. Chapter 11

"Continue down Main Street for three blocks, then take a left down Dragonfly. Keep on that road until you see the smithy's sign on the right. If you reach the Copper-a-Loaf bread store, you've gone to far." Gaara patted Lee's shoulder and looked around, his mind distracted as he thought about the day ahead. He was going in the almost opposite direction of his friend, so they needed to separate here.

"Got it." Lee nodded, fingers twitching for a piece of paper and a quill to write down the directions. It was his first time to be in a city as large as this, and he was already getting the first strands of nervousness and excitement from it. For the first time in a long while, he had major prospects for his future and his craft.

Lee placed a hand on Gaara's shoulder and squeezed it, mostly to get Gaara to really look at him instead of looking like he was ready to be on his way already. "Take care, Master Gaara. If I lose my way, I am sure the locals can help me."

The sorcerer paused and glanced up at his friend's face, finally taking the time to notice the man's expression. Lee's eyes were crinkled in the way that usually meant he was happy or at least pleased with something, and there was a twist to his usual grin that suggested nerves. Gaara nodded and his focused frown softened briefly. "I'll get in contact with you if something comes up. Stay out of trouble, and meet me back at the inn when you're done."

Patting the hand on his shoulder briefly, Gaara turned away and melted into the crowd. It was difficult for him not to stick out sometimes because of the vivid coloring of his hair and the aura of magic in his demeanor, but he was long practiced at not being noticed when he needed it. He found his way down an alley, working his path along the city's lesser known roads for the rejected or illegal trades. Shady figures littered the alleys like trash, and Gaara even spotted some faces leaning over the rooftops, yet another method of travel for those who didn't wish to be seen. He payed them no mind further than shielding his back and pulling the hood of his cloak over his head.

As he descended deeper into the dark arteries of the city, the rows of brick and mortar buildings shifted into decrepit structures where it was quieter, filled with a sense of foreboding as the noise from the main street faded into a muted buzz. The few people who peered out from the dusty windows or leaned against crumbling walls watched the sorcerer pass by with dull stares.

One of the side streets led to the back of a warehouse where two men and a woman stood in front of a closed door. Both men were smoking thick cigars and had some sort of marking on their faces. The woman's neck was covered in purple lines which showed when she tilted her head to the side at seeing Gaara appear at the corner. She stole one of the men's cigars and took a puff, watching the hooded figure with nonchalance.

Gaara stepped up to the door at a semi-respectful distance, peering at the guards' faces from beneath his hood. His expression remained passive, though the strong pungency of the cigar made him want to wrinkle his nose with distaste. He'd always hated smokers. "I'm here to see the Snake. The Tanuki is paying him a visit."

The woman nodded at one of the men, who darted inside the warehouse with a clatter of the metal door. She blew a stream of smoke towards Gaara with a raised brow, her eyes red-rimmed as a user of red sand and any member of the Sound ring. A few minutes later and the door opened with the first man gesturing inside for Gaara to follow.

The sorcerer ducked his head and followed the guard inside, not bothering a glance at the other two as he passed. He was familiar with the narrow halls as he moved, not needing to look to his guide to know each twist in their path before they turned. Nothing much had changed since the last time he'd payed this old connection a visit.

The candles in the tall sconces flickered, creating shadows out of nothing around them. It was daylight outside, but in here it felt like a dreary midnight atmosphere. Gaara passed several rooms where he could hear lively voices, some more subdued with secrecy, but no one looked up at him. Minding one's own business was the key to survival in the black market. The guard ahead of him finally came to a stop and knocked briefly on a tall door, before opening it and gesturing for the sorcerer to step into a large room. Windows made the light shockingly bright compared to the halls. Gaara pushed back his hood and raised a brow at the old snake.

"Orochimaru," he greeted.

At Gaara's entrance, the lull of conversation ceased in the room even though most went about their business in feigned ignorance.

"My, what a delicious sight. I'd heard you were in the city, but I never thought you'd visit me, little Tanuki." Seated on a plush divan, Orochimaru waved away the guard who brought Gaara in and lecherously ran his long purple-dyed tongue over his lips. The man's eyes were yellow, pupils dilated and snake-like from smoke and the drugs his crime ring smuggled into the city. Spreading his legs, he leaned forward in his seat while the guards he kept at his side looked on with bored expressions. "Are you here to finally join me?"

"Of course not." Gaara almost rolled his eyes and stepped forward. He gripped the back of an unused chair and pulled it out from under a table, taking a seat across from the other man. He cross his arms across his chest and leaned back as he spoke. He kept a close watch on the position of Orochimaru's minions in the peripheral of his eyes. "I made it clear on my first visit with you that I was uninterested in joining your organization. I reiterated on the visit after that, and the one after that, and the one after that."

"It never hurts to ask." Orochimaru smirked while one of his serving men set down a cup of spiced tea for both men. "I could use a man of your...considerable talent and teach you things you would never learn from anyone else. What are you after this time? A contract? A bribe? Women...or men?"

"None of the above. I'm here for information." Gaara cocked his head to the side and a sour, bitter smirk crossed his expression. His feet were firmly planted on the ground beneath his chair. "I believe you are familiar with my old master, Shukaku. I'm currently trying to track down his location."

Leaning back against the divan, Orochimaru slid his hand across the high arm rest on one side as he flicked his tongue over his lips. "That's someone I haven't seen in a long time. Not since that Weasel went after him." From behind the divan, a black sleek head reared up as Manda tasted the air around her master. The large snake slithered and curled around Orochimaru's hand until she was wrapped around her shoulders. He stroked her head before laughter rumbled in his throat.

"But I know where he is." He picked up one of the teacups and sipped it calmly, his eyes never leaving Gaara's frame. Manda flicked her tongue out at Gaara as if asking a question herself. Information was never free. "What will you give me for this information?"

Gaara had been prepared for this. Orochimaru was a greedy bastard who wouldn't lift a hand to save his own mother unless she paid him in advance. Gaara reached into his robe and summoned a short, thick vial of something red and swirling. It was heavier than it looked, much like gold, and the sorcerer tested its weight in his palm as he spoke.

"My abilities have become quite advanced since the last time we saw each other. I've learned how to obtain some precious elements for my potions." Gaara knew for a fact that Orochimaru wasn't as healthy now as he'd been in his youth, and rumors told that the snake had a growing fear of death and illness as he aged. "This potion is guaranteed to add thirteen years to your natural life span, or it can save you on the brink of death if you choose not to drink it immediately. This is what I'm offering- make it worth my time."

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed with the sorcerer's offer. Manda reared up and flicked her tongue out, tasting the air for poison as her master slowly grinned. "I see now how far you've come. My interest in you grows, little Tanuki, and so does that of many who would see you fall." The snake hadn't taken his eyes off of the potion since Gaara brought it out, but he fixed his gaze on the redhead now. "Very well. You'll have the information you want by sunrise tomorrow. But consider my offer once more. You and I are the same. We both seek power at the cost of our damnation and the sacrifice of others."

"I'm not like you." The slight upcurl of Gaara's lips turned down firmly and his eyes narrowed. He shook his head and hefted the potion again. "I will continue doing business with you in the future, but that is all I can promise you, and even that may change with time."

The redhead sent the potion forward, levitating it before the snake man. It twisted and turn in the air, like an unholy temptation waiting to be plucked. "I'll give this to you now, but that is only half the potion. There is one other mixture you need to drink with it, or else it won't work. I'll give that to you tomorrow, when I receive my information."

"A pity. Tomorrow then. Pleasure doing business with you, as always." Orochimaru waved a hand with one of his men moving to stand behind Gaara. "There's one more thing you should know- free of charge. When you do find your master, bring a gourd." Leaving it at that, the man took the potion in the air and tucked it in the folds of his robes.

Gaara crossed his arms in displeasure. He hated it when Orochimaru spoke in riddles. The crazy old man always thought he was being clever. The sorcerer knew the value of whatever hidden message had been conveyed however, and decided to think it over. He turn swiftly, causing his cloak to give a dramatic flare before he exited, followed closely by the snake's guards.

* * *

It was after dark before Gaara finally returned to the inn where he and Lee had rented a room. He'd gone around the city to check on his other contacts, but Orochimaru remained his best bet. The sorcerer rubbed his face briefly as he stepped inside the building and passed through a lively dining hall on his way to the stairs.

The sounds of boisterous conversation and clatter of beer mugs echoed throughout the inn, like in many of the places he and Lee stayed at during their travels. That is, until Gaara passed by the archway of the hall and something crashed from inside while a tall, heavy body knocked into his and a hand fastened on his waist. "Heeeey, Maaaster Gaaraaa." Lee grinned down at him with unfocused eyes and alcohol in his breath. Most of his weight pressed down against Gaara as the smith tried to steady himself on wobbly legs. "Whu...where did you go all day? I missed you so muchmrmrm..." He nuzzled Gaara's hair shamelessly, wrinkling his nose when he caught a whiff of the dregs Gaara had been to.

"Lee-?" Gaara blinked in surprise and raised a brow at the thick smell of alcohol, grunting as he tried not to fall under Lee's weight. His legs buckled as he pushed against the other man's shoulders. Lee's hands felt clingy and clumsy where he held onto Gaara, but still held the same incredible strength that made pushing him completely away impossible. "Lee, I've been around the city all day, seeing old contacts. You're drunk. How much have you had to drink already...?"

Gaara had never even heard of Lee being drunk before in their small town, and he'd thought that the smith didn't even partake in the spirits when the men got together at local bars. This was new.

"Just...just one sip...I think. Maybe two." Lee announced cheerfully while the resident bartender and innkeeper passed by and shook his head at Lee.

"Never seen anyone as lightweight as him. Broke me a fuckin' table!" he grumbled as he hefted pieces of said table to dispose of.

Lee hiccuped before a side loped grin appeared on his face and he held up his arm in beckoning. "It was no match for the Green Beast! Give me a worthy opponent and I will destroy him!" The hand on Gaara's waist tightened briefly before Lee's legs gave out and he fell against the sorcerer, his weight pinning Gaara against the side of the staircase half-hidden from the dining hall. The momentary shock had Lee's eyes opening wide as he stared at Gaara's face before they lidded and the wide grin returned. "Sex is good too," he murmured, rubbing Gaara's cheek with his thumb.

"Not while you're drunk," Gaara grunted, though he shuddered and his breath caught briefly. It had been a while since Lee had given him this kind of attention. The smith's eyes were lidded and dopey, making Gaara think of a fog verses a night sky. He slipped his hand over Lee's near his face and squeezed it. The smell of alcohol on Lee's breath strengthened his resolve as their faces came too close together.

"I'm not in the mood. Why don't we work on getting you toward our room, hm? And where is your gremlin?" Gaara tried to slip an arm around Lee's torso and put him back on his feet, but wasn't quite managing.

"He is...um...somewhere in our room. He did not want to dance for my new friends." Lee shrugged. While Gaara struggled to get him to his feet, Lee leaned down and sloppily kissed the sorcerer. A deep chuckle rumbled in his chest before he nipped Gaara's lower lip. Both hands fastened on Gaara's waist then with a sudden tug, Lee hefted the other man over his shoulder with his cloak falling over his head. "Yosh! Off to our room of love! If I do not get you in the mood, then I will run through the city twenty times!" He patted Gaara's ass before making his way up the stairs in a drunken jog.

"Dammit, Lee! Put me down!" Gaara squirmed and kicked his feet uselessly in the air behind him, grunting with every step of Lee's feet as it jarred his breath. He knew he could overpower the smith with magic if he needed to, especially in his drunken condition. However, his goal had been to get Lee back to their room, and that's where they were headed...

"This is humiliating. The worst way you could try to turn me on. Ever." Gaara sighed and stopped flailing as Lee ducked under the doorway to their room.

Lee moved over to the bed and carefully set Gaara down on the mattress. Once the redhead was off his shoulder, Lee wasted no time in propping one knee beside him and yank off his shirt. The smith's chest was dusted with soot and some of the chest hair looked singed. "You do not complain when you are held up by my tentacles and forced to thrust down on my cock," he said, baring his teeth with an edge to his grin.

"Come on... I want to celebrate." He hiccuped and began kissing Gaara's hand in slow, lazy movements. "I found an apprenticeship in the city."

"The tentacles are different. And what do you mean, an apprenticeship?" Gaara flushed as he tried not to let Lee's advances overcome his better judgement. Lee wasn't in his right mind right now, and Gaara knew that if the smith was sober he wouldn't be doing this. He'd been avoiding intimacy since they'd still been in the mansion. He squirmed away, trying to get out from under Lee's body. Gaara tugged his hand out of Lee's and braced against his chest. "You can't get an apprenticeship right now- we're still on a quest. You have other things you need to focus on."

"Forget the quest for a moment. This is the best opportunity I have ever had!" Lee straddled Gaara's legs and frowned at the hand on his chest as if wondering when it got there. He lowered his head instead and buried his face on Gaara's arm. "I have been waiting for you to- nng...to come home. And then someone...um...someone gave me a drink. But still! Celebrate with me, Master Gaara."

"No, Lee." Gaara sighed sharply as his patience seriously threatened to break. He understood very clearly now why he'd never seen Lee drink before- this was a mess. Had he really only had a sip? That seemed impossible. "I really, really, really don't want to right now. Why don't you just lay down with me for a while? You can tell me all about what happened today in the morning when you wake up- sober."

Gaara struggled to sit up, but it wasn't easy with Lee's weight on his lap and falling over him as the smith swayed. The sorcerer captured Lee's face with one hand and tried to hold him still long enough to catch his eye. He sent a small wave of power through Lee to drain some of his energy and make him tired. It was subtle, hardly noticeable to someone who was in their right mind. "Aren't you tired, Lee? Don't you want to lay down with me?" Gaara asked, trying to make it sound like Lee's idea.

"Hnnn...I am a little tired," Lee muttered, brows furrowing as the energy drain worked on his body. There was still giddiness on his face even when he swayed dangerously from side to side, ready to topple over at any moment. His lidded eyes met Gaara's and began to blink in sudden exhaustion. "Can I...hrmm...can I do you in the morning? Hmhm- do you hard."

Trailing off with a chuckle, the smith nodded off with his summoned gremlin dropping down on his shoulder from the beams above. It yanked on Lee's ear and complained loudly about the smith's erratic behavior that night.

"Of course, of course," Gaara nodded agreeably and tried guiding Lee down onto the bed next to him, only halfway succeeding as his legs remained tangled under the smith's weight. He plucked the gremlin off Lee's shoulder and winced at the shrill note to its voice.

"He's drunk. He'll probably get what's coming to him when he wakes up in the morning." Gaara was hoping that Lee woke up with a much deserving hang-over, to remind him exactly why he shouldn't drink. Though how he could get a hang-over from one sip was unimaginable. Gaara set the gremlin on the pillows and hefted himself out from under Lee's body with a grunt of effort. He was heavy!

It was a few minutes later and some magic to possess the sheets before Gaara managed to get Lee to lay properly on the bed, sighing as he pulled the blankets into place. He had a lot to think about now. Lee had found an apprenticeship? What did that even mean? Lee was supposed to stay with him! Did the smith expect Gaara to stay in the city? This was ridiculous.


	12. Chapter 12

Lee woke up to a pounding hangover and loud whining in his ear. "Gods above, lemme sleep," he grumbled, swiping at something tickling his earlobe and sending a small, squeaking body flying across the bed. It was no use to try and go back to sleep as sharp pains shot through his head down to his nose. He groaned in pain, hands reaching up to clasp his pillow only to tighten around soft strands.

One of Lee's eyes blinked open followed quickly by the other as he stared almost cross-eyed at the tiny gremlin waving its fist at him. His gaze shifted to the background where Gaara's face was right next to his. With a sharp inhale, he rolled over to the other side and slipped out of bed, banging his knee on the side table and hissing at the echoing pain in his temples. He couldn't remember anything from last night except coming back to the inn and asking for some tap at the bar while he waited for Gaara to come home. Why was his head hurting so much?

"You're awake." Gaara blinked and took a deep breath as Lee's bumbling woke him. He sat up and yawned, slipping his legs out from under the blankets. He raised a brow at the gremlin, but didn't comment as he stretched and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "How's the hang-over?"

Gaara stood and walked over to the small dresser beside the window and dipped a cloth into the bowl of water he'd prepared last night. He wrung out the tepid liquid and held out moist cloth for Lee to wash his face with.

Taking the cloth, Lee pressed his face into it and let the cold water shock him completely awake. He groaned into the cloth as his temples began to throb again, the shift in temperature sending his blood flowing to his head. "Hang-over?" He lowered the cloth enough to stare at Gaara in confusion. "But I do not drink alcohol...wait. Did I break anything last night?"

If what Gaara said was true, then it explained the sour taste in his mouth and the pain in his head. Lee slid the cloth up his forehead until it pushed his bangs away from his face, taking comfort as he held it against his temples.

"Just a table, as far as I know." Gaara stretched his arms above his head again and hummed at the pleasant pull across his ribs. He went back to his side of the bed, searching the floor for his clothes. He was just in his sleep pants now. "You get incredibly horny when you're drunk, by the way. Or it may have only been this time. It's been a while since you were so forward with me."

Lee's face erupted in a dark red hue and he yelped in pain at the additional blood flowing to his head and cheeks. "Ugh, I am never touching alcohol again," he moaned, "I...I did not force you into anything, did I? And I will find a way to pay for the table I broke." Eyes opening in mere slits, he couldn't help letting his gaze linger longer on Gaara's bare back and the curve of his ass when he bent to pick up his clothes. He still wanted the sorcerer despite his decision not to push for intimacy between them. Besides, there was something else he'd wanted to tell Gaara-

He started when he felt something climb up his shoulder, glancing at the gremlin who was rubbing its belly hungrily. Sighing, he stopped lingering about and headed over to their packs. "I must have forgotten to feed you last night too, huh?" he murmured as he finally noticed the singed hair on his chest and the traces of soot left on his body from yesterday.

"You pinned me on the bed, but passed out before we could do anything. I have a potion that would take care of your headache, but you wouldn't like it." Gaara glanced over his shoulder at Lee with a malicious smirk as he pulled on and adjusted his shirt. "It's made from bacon grease, raw salmon eggs, salamander drool, and stool of an unknown origin. Has that nausea kicked in yet, by the way?"

Lee's face paled at the list of ingredients and he pressed a hand against his mouth. "You can be a real bastard you know?" he said with a muffled voice, brows furrowed as he pulled out a fresh change of clothes and faced the other man. Taking a breath to stifle the urge to vomit, he set the gremlin on the table for a moment as he cleaned his body with the wet cloth and got dressed. "I think I will just get water downstairs."

Packing away his things, he perked up as he recalled the good news he had yesterday. "I have something to tell you, Master Gaara. I met Master Jordin, the blacksmith, yesterday and he was impressed when I showed him my skills."

"That's nice," Gaara replied vaguely in reply, suddenly distracted as he slipped on his socks and shoes. He gathered his cloak and belt quickly, eyes down as he thought to himself. He knew what Lee was going to say. He didn't want to hear it right now.

"I'm not surprised. You're already proficient. Will you be going back today? I still have some things to take care of, then we need to start moving again tomorrow morning. I think I've caught a lead in finding him."

"Not today. But as soon as I can. Master Jordin has offered to let me stay at his home along with an apprenticeship." Lee glanced out the tiny window. It was still dark outside but the horizon was already tuning light blue in anticipation of sunrise. He stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles. He was feeling better already with every passing moment and the thought of his apprenticeship. "This is great! We will not have to go around in circles to find this Shukaku anymore. If we are able to track him down soon, we may be able to finish this quest earlier than expected."

"Don't get cocky." Gaara's voice was a tad sharper than he'd intended, and he blinked in surprise at himself. He took a deep breath and turned to face Lee as he spoke. "If this lead proves fruitful, it'll definitely help us find him faster, but we still need to face him. He's a dangerous man, Lee. Overconfidence will kill you."

Gaara checked his pockets briefly, then sighed. He had everything he needed. "I need to get going."

Lee's mouth shut in surprise at Gaara's reprimand. The excited look on his face vanished as his gaze lowered to the floor, thick brows meeting before he exhaled and nodded. He didn't know what was worse: Gaara's abrupt dismissal of his good news or the thought that he should have expected this by now. "You are right. I am sorry. I did not intend to belittle the quest we are on."

He turned around and helped the gremlin back onto his shoulder. Its size would help it duck into the folds of his shirt and avoid discovery in public. "Do you want me to come with you?"

Gaara felt something queasy form in his gut at the look on Lee's face, but struggled to ignore it. It felt like the harder he tried to keep Lee with him, the farther he pushed the man away. It was getting worse. "If you don't have anywhere else you'd like to be today, then you are welcome to come with me. I have someone I need to meet soon."

He started to turn toward the door, then paused and turned back. He stepped up to Lee and pulled him down for a brief kiss. It was simple and dry, and it felt to Gaara that it would have seemed more impressive if he was taller, but there was desire and value there nonetheless.

Lee accepted the kiss but couldn't hide his half-hearted attempt to return it. His eyes flickered black for a moment before they returned to their normal dark brown. There was still a tightness between his brows and the set of his mouth as he rubbed Gaara's arms. "Alright. I will come with you. We can get breakfast together after your business is done. I will just get some water downstairs."

Moving past the sorcerer, he headed out the door to get something to clear his head and ease the tension building in his chest.

* * *

It was just after the first rays of the sun peeked over the horizon of the city when Lee and Gaara made their way inside Orochimaru's hideout and met with the old snake. They were in the same room which Gaara had met him the day before, but it was far emptier now. There was a distinct quiet compared to the bustle of voices dealing and trade switching hands that usually took place. It was almost as if the criminal underground had slept in.

"I have the last ingredient." The sorcerer reached into his cloak and summoned a long, thin blue vial. "Do you have Shukaku's location?"

Beside him, Lee was trying his damnedest to stay still despite his flesh crawling along his arms. Orochimaru's pet snake was slithering along the floor freely and was looking right at him. Gaara had instructed him to stay silent, but he was close to running out the door screaming if that snake touched him. Their town's garden snakes were a fourth of Manda's size!

"Right here," Orochimaru replied, holding up a sealed letter. He smirked in amusement at Lee's pale face before turning his gaze back to Gaara. One of his aides took the letter and drew closer to Gaara, holding it just out of reach. "Before we hold this delightful exchange, who may I ask is your friend? Manda seems to like him very much."

"Lee, Orochimaru," Gaara introduced, gesturing between them. He put a hand on Lee's arm to help calm the smith, and to convey to Orochimaru that he and Lee were close. He was almost amused at the look on Lee's face when he'd beheld Manda. He'd thought his friend was recklessly brave in the face of anything. "Lee and I are partners of a sort. He's with me. Don't worry about the snake, Lee. She shouldn't touch you."

The sorcerer levitated the vial like he had done the other, and held out a hand for the letter. There was a tightness to his expression as he waited.

Lee's lips tugged nervously into a smile, taking comfort from Gaara's words. He hadn't liked the look Orochimaru gave Gaara when they entered the room, and the demon was stirring inside him at the dangerous aura he was giving off.

"Lee. A simple name for one who has that much power. You keep interesting friends, little tanuki." Orochimaru waved his hand, the aide handing Gaara the letter while taking the vial and bringing it to the snake. He fingered the top of the slim container thoughtfully. "I eagerly await what comes out of your reunion with your former master."

"I'm sure you'll hear of it, even if I don't visit you again for some time." Gaara nodded and slipped the paper securely into his cloak, shivering briefly with the possible implications of finally finding Shukaku. It would mean half the battle.

They left quickly, and Gaara felt something tighten in his chest with anticipation. He could feel the letter in his breast pocket, heavy with power for the future. They made it out of the snake's hideout and the city's alleys easily. Gaara was so distracted however, that he didn't notice someone approaching from behind until they'd already broken through his protective forces and wrapped strong, tan arms around him.

"___HolyshitGaara!_ What the hell are you doing here?! I thought I wouldn't see you for another three years at least!" Naruto exclaimed. He nearly burst Gaara's eardrum with his shouting as he pulled the sorcerer against him in a bone grinding hug from behind. "Shit, man, have you gotten shorter or what?"

Before Naruto could get another word out, he was yanked off of Gaara and thrown against the nearest wall. Lee sucked in a breath, freezing once his brain finally caught up to his body's reflexes. "Y-You know Master Gaara?" He glanced from the blond man to the sorcerer beside him, rapidly realizing he likely just manhandled Gaara's friend.

"That is what you get for calling me short," Gaara growled, scowling and crossing his arms as he turned to face his old friend. He was irked that the blond had managed to sneak up on him so easily.

"Ow. What was that for?" Naruto rubbed his lower back as he leaned forward off his backside and winced. Whoever the hell had hit him was a freaking giant! That kind of strength was unnatural! He hadn't been so easy to throw since he was a child! "What kind of company are you keeping, Gaara? That fucking hurt!"

Lee rubbed the back of his head as he straightened up, though he wasn't sorry about separating the two men. They were still close to where Orochimaru and the rest of the city's criminal underground resided, and the blond man could easily have been a murderer or one of Shukaku's men. "I am sorry for throwing you. Are you alright?" he asked, stepping close to Gaara's side and offering a friendly smile at Naruto despite the wariness still in his eyes. "This is not the best place to startle someone."

"What are you, a bodyguard or something?" Naruto pulled himself up and brushed off his dirty clothes, huffing defensively.

"Of course not. I can take care of myself." Gaara gestured between the men. "Naruto, this is Lee. Lee, this oaf is Naruto."

"Oi! That's the worst greeting and introduction I've ever had! What the hell, man?"

Gaara's mouth finally turned up in a smile. It was a different expression than he wore when alone with Lee, but similar in its rare tenderness and approachability. His eyes crinkled and one edge of his mouth pulled higher than the other in a crooked affection. "Hello, Naruto. Satisfied?"

A glance at Gaara had Lee's breath catching in his throat, but he swallowed it down and held out a hand towards Naruto. "Pleased to meet you! I did not know Master Gaara had close friends in the city. I am the smith from our town and his companion for his travels."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at Lee's hand before they curved into slits and he shook Lee's hand firmly. The spark of magic that passed between them gave way to Naruto's true nature. "Heh! Well any friend of Gaara's is a friend of mine just for putting up with his bullshit attitude." When he pulled his hand back, he raised his brow at Gaara in a silent what-the-fuck at the demonic energy he felt coursing through Lee's body.

Gaara just shook his head mutely, his mouth tightening a fraction as he conveyed that they would talk about it later. He didn't want to explain it all right now, and the demon could be a touchy subject lately.

"We were just on our way back to the inn where we're staying. You should come with. I'd like to talk to you about the latest quest I've begun." Gaara's eyes burned softly with excitement. He still hadn't forgotten his letter.

"Sounds great! We can finally catch up." Naruto stepped up to his friend and wrapped an arm around Gaara's shoulders, turning down the street.

There was little else to do but follow after the two as they headed back towards the inn. Watching Naruto chatting loudly and jostling Gaara with obvious familiarity, Lee couldn't shake away the twist in his gut or the cold realization that he wasn't the only one Gaara allowed close to him.

* * *

"You've been up to no good and you're going to tell me all about it." Naruto prodded Gaara's chest once they barmaid had served their drinks and they were left alone in the corner of the inn's bar. He propped one leg over another, boot scraping against the table leg as he took a swig of his beer. "Tastes a hell of a lot better than the piss they have down south," he said, tugging open the red and black robe he wore over a tunic.

The place was quiet at this time of day with only a few people taking an early lunch there. Lee had gone to the stables to check if their horses were ready for travel tomorrow, giving the two men time to talk.

"It's a long story." Gaara took a small pull of his beer. He didn't drink often, but Naruto always seemed able to convince him like no other could. He had to agree that the taste wasn't bad. "I've been living in that town for couple years now. Things were almost... calm, for a while. Comfortable. But I got restless a few months ago and tried to summon a demon I wasn't prepared for. I was out of practice. Lee was there when it happened."

Gaara took another pull from his drink, this one deeper than before. He grimaced as he vaguely remembered the dark, manic grin on Lee's face and the total blackness of his eyes the first time he'd been possessed.

"That's another thing I'm wondering about. I never took you for someone who'd allow an audience during a summoning." Naruto gestured towards Gaara with his beer mug. "You only let me in on your spells when it was a joint summoning back when we worked together. What the fuck changed?"

He took a long drink of his beer before holding it up and calling for a refill. "And with that thing inside him, I'm assuming it's under your control? It damn better be." He narrowed his eyes at Gaara. Back when they'd first met, Gaara wasn't the composed, relatively peaceful man he was now. Naruto didn't doubt that there was still some of that chaotic nature hidden inside his friend.

"I shouldn't have let him sit in. I was overconfident, and sometimes Lee makes me feel like showing off. He asked if he could be there, and I allowed it." Gaara sighed and rubbed a temple with regret. "I prepared a simple salt circle for him, but it wasn't enough. When the demon broke away from me and tried to drag me through the opening, Lee ran to my aide and made himself vulnerable."

Gaara gulped the last of his drink and held it out as the staff came back with a tall pitcher to refill their drinks. He thanked her briefly. "I discovered the demon's name, but not before Lee had traded possession of his body for my safety. I've been keeping him close ever since, seeing as he's my responsibility now."

Naruto drank his beer in silence as he considered what Gaara said. He'd summoned his share of demons, but the one he felt possessing Lee had almost enough power to challenge the Kyuubi. "Showing off, huh? Knowing you, summoning a demon that powerful means you were planning to do something stupid or suicidal. Or both. I'm willing to bet my fucking reputation as a sage that it's tied to the quest you're on now. I don't think you were lingering around that perverted snake's hideout for nothing."

Leaning forward, he lowered his voice and looked Gaara in the eye, the lines on his cheeks darkened by shadow and making him look even more fox-like than usual. "Are you going after Shukaku?"

Gaara's eyes finally lit up with the age old, smoldering excitement. He reached into his cloak pocket and pulled out the sealed letter he'd received. "I've been testing the demon's power, and I think I can finally pull it off. I've got his location from the snake, and I've been gathering power for a long time. Even on the way into the city, I found one of Shukaku's cults in ruin. That means he isn't capable of maintaining all his power sources anymore- his energy is spread too thin."

The redhead leaned forward over the table, clutching the envelop tighter as his face hovered close to Naruto's. His voice was emphatic, but also soft so as not to draw attention. He tilted his head at his old friend. "It won't be easy, but I can finally do this."

"The snake found his location? I'll be damned. You've finally got a lead on him after all these years." Naruto eyed the letter in Gaara's hand before looking at Gaara with renewed intensity. It had been so long since they parted ways, but his friend's ambitions were still as high as they were long ago. Blue eyes held Gaara's gaze for a second before the blond sorcerer leaned forward and crushed their lips together in one quick movement. He didn't pull away completely as he grinned at the redhead. "You haven't lost that fire I've always loved about you."

While Gaara didn't pull away, he'd seen the kiss coming. He had let it happen, recognizing the twinge of excitement and passion that had passed between them so many times before. It felt as ancient and familiar as heartbreak, with a fondness that always characterized his bond with Naruto. The corner of Gaara's mouth pulled up in a half smile, even as he began to shake his head and lean just a bit further into his own seat.

"No more of that, Naruto. I've missed you, but I think we've both moved on from that." He finally slipped a finger under the letter's seal and began to break open the folds. "Besides, I've become rather intimate with Lee. I have the feeling he'd be upset by this."

Naruto held up both hands in mock surrender and pulled away with a laugh. "Alright, alright. It was still worth a shot. But I knew there was something more between you with the way he looks at you like a lost pup." He stretched his arm against the back of his chair and let it hang as he drunk down his second mug.

"I'm happy for you. Hard enough to find someone when they're fucking afraid of our magic, even harder when our magic has touched them. How is he taking his possession? Does he know what he'll go through once you use the demon's power on Shukaku?" Naruto looked around for the barmaid with a frown before finally shrugging and tapping a finger at the base of his mug. It began to fill with a different liquid- the higher quality drink from the innkeeper's own cellar. "It's not like the it will leave him once Shukaku's dead."

"I talked to him quite a bit about what to expect when it first happened." Gaara's mouth twisted with thought. He pulled out the folded letter and set the envelope on the table. "It's been... harder to talk to him lately. I'm going to discuss strategies with him before we face Shukaku, but I'm sure the demon will be doing most of the work."

Gaara finally opened the letter and quickly scanned the contents. He raised a brow and inhaled sharply at what he found. Shukaku was apparently dwelling between mountain valleys at the edge of the Great Desert. There was a brief list of examples of his appearances to travelers or witnesses detailing the last places he'd let himself be known. It wouldn't be difficult to reach that place- Gaara knew the paths well. He'd passed through that area with his master in the past while training. "This is finally it. I'm going to leave first thing in the morning with Lee toward the Greater Desert."

"Let me come with you. I've gathered enough power of my own to lend a hand," Naruto proposed. "It's the least I can do for an old friend." He glanced up when he caught sight of Lee entering the dining hall, sipping his mug and tilting his head slightly to notify Gaara. "Just consider it. You know how to find me when you decide."

Catching sight of the two, Lee made his way to their table and sat down next to Gaara with a smile. "The horses are fit for travel and I have also purchased more feed for the journey ahead." He nodded in greeting at Naruto before blinking in surprise when he saw that they were both drinking beer this early. "Will you be joining us for lunch?" he asked the blond sorcerer.

"Nah, I gotta get going soon. Things to do, places to see." Naruto met Lee's smile easily even when he questioned how someone who seemed so cheerful and proper could get along with the redhead. He drank the last of his beer and set it down with a satisfied sigh, getting up and clasping Gaara's shoulder with mischief in his eyes. "Damn good to see you again, Gaara. Don't forget me too much okay?"

"I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again, Naruto." Gaara slipped a hand over his friend's and squeezed affectionately with a small, familiar smile. He turned in his seat and watched his friend leave, not turning back to Lee until Naruto had stepped out the door.

The sorcerer refolded his letter carefully and tucked it back into the envelope. He levitated it above his palm and focused until it caught fire and burned into ashes. He tossed the mess under the table and wiped his hands together. "Tonight we'll discuss the next section of our travels. I know where we need to go from here."

"Alright. I also have something to talk to you about tonight." Lee clasped his hands together tightly on the table, the furrow between his brows deepening even when Naruto had already left. That look between the two sorcerers almost looked like- but no, he must be seeing things that weren't really there. Raising a hand to catch the barmaid's attention, he ignored the churning in his gut and focused instead on having a hot meal with Gaara. For now.

Gaara nodded and took a small swig of his beer. He had a lot to discuss with the smith before they departed.


	13. Chapter 13 (NSFW!)

**AN: This chapter is Not Safe For Work!**

* * *

Gaara leaned forward over the map he'd spread across their room floor. The sunlight was just disappearing over the horizon, the signal to end their day. Gaara and Lee had not spent much time together after parting ways around noon to gather supplies and visit the shops for the last time. They'd each had their dinners and returned to the small, shared room so they could talk. Downstairs, the boisterous voices had finally begun to calm. The candles had just been lit about the room.

"The best way for us to travel would be to just follow the valleys. The mountains would take too much energy to cross." Gaara glanced over at Lee, crossing his arms and shifting his weight where he stood. "We could make it there in less than a week if we really tried."

"We can definitely make it within that time if we have swift travel. We can set up camp near the plains before crossing the mountains here." Lee pointed out as he bent over his side of the map. "But when we start following the valleys, we should stick close to the woods. I asked around and there have been a lot of bandits along the road lately. We can fight them off...but it might draw too much attention to us."

He rubbed his chin, the day's stubble already growing longer. Ironically, it had been easier to remember to shave on the road than in the city, where time seemed to pass quickly. "Have you come up with a plan to defeat your old master? I still do not know what you plan to have the demon do to him." He leaned back on his elbows, his bare stomach flexing as he did.

"Hn." Gaara paused briefly, then turned and moved to the far corner of the room. He'd propped something there, covered in a wide, tattered cloth for discretion's sake. He pulled back the cloth and exposed a huge, tan gourd. It was nearly as tall as he was, and looked grainy in texture.

"This will have something to do with it. I summoned sands from the desert to build this. It's befitting if you knew Shukaku's person." Gaara tapped the special seals he'd established along the gourd's skin.

Lee's eyebrows raised high as Gaara showed off the gourd. "A gourd? What will a gourd do to defeat Shukaku?" He tilted his head to the side and squinted, trying to make sense of the symbols on the gourd. His summoned gremlin climbed up the side of the gourd and inspected the cork seal on top.

"It's just a precaution." Gaara shrugged. He tossed the cloth back over the gourd, making the gremlin squeak as the cloth feel over its head. He moved back to the map, lowering himself to sit close next to Lee. He tugged the collar of his dark shirt as he got comfortable. He peered at Lee from the edge of his eyes. "Will you be ready to leave in the morning?"

Catching the look Gaara gave him, Lee exhaled and gave a thumbs up. They were finally closing in on the end to this quest, and he had a future to look forward to when it was over. "Ready as ever. I promise to do whatever I can to aid you in your quest. I know I do not have much to offer aside from having the demon inside me, but I can keep you safe on the roads."

He placed a hand on Gaara's arm, stroking it in quiet affection. There were so many things he wanted to talk to the other man about, but Gaara's concentration on killing his old master made it hard to voice out his concerns. However, there was one thing that couldn't remain unsaid. "Master Gaara, when we are finished with Shukaku, I am thinking of moving to this city to study under Master Jordin. I will not let it distract me from my duties, but... I just needed you to know."

Gaara's brows hardened and he tore his gaze away with a thick exhale. He couldn't avoid this topic any longer. "I understand why you want to do that. But there are other cities, Lee. There're other places, people, endless options for us to take. Do you really think it's wise to bed down in the first place you visit after leaving home?"

There was a short, instantaneous pause before Gaara exhaled sharply again and moved. He was done with this cautious, over-sensitive space between them. He wouldn't stand for it any longer. He wrapped his arms around the back of Lee's neck and straddled his lap, pulling their faces together. "Nothing will end just because Shukaku is dead, Lee. You'll still have the demon. I'll still be responsible for you. People will still fear you for reasons they don't understand."

Lee's hands gripped Gaara's hips on reflex, his pulse speeding up when he was suddenly mounted by the other man. The sorcerer's initiative brought a sharp spike of desire in him, and an ache that had started long before they set out on this quest. A flush rose to his cheeks despite his face growing serious at the turn of their conversation. "That is exactly why I am taking this opportunity. Just because there is a demon inside me does not mean I have to give up on my own dreams." His lips trembled at their proximity, thumbs already pressing against Gaara's hipbones in familiar longing. "When you are done with Shukaku, where will you go next? How much more power are you after? I do not think you will ever settle in one place in the end."

His hands pulled Gaara's hips flush against his stomach and wrapped them tightly around the other man. "What more would you have me do?"

"Stay with me." Gaara's breath was coming faster, from finally being able to touch Lee and having the man's arms around him, as well as the rush of indignation at his words. "Gaining power is just one part Lee. I haven't even used it yet, not really. We could travel to another continent or even another world if we combined our efforts."

Gaara dragged a hand along the back of Lee's neck, then through the base of his hair and gripped briefly. He frowned and his eyes seethed. "You haven't been able to touch me since before we left. Why? What changed? I can feel that you still want me, don't you?"

Lee's brows met at the tone of Gaara's voice and the message his eyes held. This moment felt too long delayed, left to fester with both of their minds on other things. He moved one hand from Gaara's hip to the curve of his ass and squeezed hard for the grip in his hair. "Of course I do! More than anything!" He exhaled sharply as the ache in his chest grew. "I would do anything for you, Gaara. But sex is the last thing on my mind when all you can talk about is killing Shukaku and gaining more power. You do not even spare a single thought for me. I do not even know what I am to you, or if you think of me beyond the demon's vessel."

His eyes flickered black as the demon inside him grew attentive, attracted by the sparks of tension and desire between them. Lee threw his weight against Gaara and pressed him down on the floor, hands pinning Gaara's arms as his gaze roved along the sorcerer's body. Lee could be dense about many things, but he knew exactly why he felt the way he did around the sorcerer. "I love you."

All through his body, Gaara felt the suggestions of heat and yearning in the possessive, intense way Lee was touching him. All of that suddenly froze however, when he mind caught up to the smith's words. He tried to pull himself up, but Lee was holding him down. He couldn't move. He couldn't look away from Lee's face, even when the man's eyes flickered with hints of the demon.

"I... I didn't expect that," Gaara finally said, honest to a fault. His voice was rough with his heavy breath. "You can say that to me... without knowing what you are to me? I don't..." The sorcerer's voice trailed off and he frowned as he struggled for words. A lump was forming in his throat, making it harder to speak. He squirmed under Lee's body, feeling hyper-aware of how much bigger the other man was on top of him. "You're... you're my friend, Lee. Even before the demon. I've- I've just- I haven't thought of it beyond that. It never occurred to me that I should."

The muscles on Lee's jaw were tense as the smith kept Gaara pinned down. The sting of rejection was familiar, and he wasn't surprised by Gaara's answer. "I know. You have made that clear many times, even when you ask me to stay with you now." He shut his eyes and turned away briefly, before looking back with black tendrils crawling over his cheeks and desire burning in the black pools of his eyes. When he spoke, it was with a voice mingling with the demon's. "I will not leave your side until Shukaku is dead and you have the power you want from him. I promise you this."

Ignoring Gaara's attempts to squirm away, he kissed the sorcerer deeply as tentacles began to emerge from his arms.

A muffled, brief sound left Gaara's lips before he was captured by Lee's kiss. Suddenly the smith's musky, personal scent was all that Gaara could smell and any sounds were cut off by the pounding of blood rushing through his ears. It was like he'd unintentionally opened the floodgate between Lee and himself, and now there was nothing he could do but pray he wouldn't drown. He felt himself pressing back, when he finally noticed the slithering of the dark tentacles.

Gaara jerked his head and tried to turn his face away, but Lee's strong, calloused fingers on his chin weren't letting him move anywhere. His toes curled and his fingers turned into fists above his head. His chest heaved with breath.

Gaara's taste filled Lee's mouth as he bit and sucked on his lips enough to leave a mark. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Lee delved his tongue past Gaara's lips and pressed his tongue against the other's teeth for entrance. A thick tentacle replaced the hand holding Gaara's wrists together, and more were curling and twisting under the sorcerer's shirt and pants to pull cloth from skin. With his hands finally free, Lee lifted one of Gaara's legs up until it bent close to his chest, and dragged his palm roughly back and forth against the groin of Gaara's pants.

He was beyond thought now, hiding away the part of him that ached for Gaara and letting out what his body craved. His skin flushed with heat as he groaned Gaara's name against his lips, his cock pressed tightly against the front of his pants.

The sorcerer tried to jerk his wrists free when Lee switched his grip to the tentacles, but it was useless. The rough rubbing against the crotch of his pants made him buck and jerk his body automatically with shock. The slithering of the tentacles was all too familiar as they crawled across his body and tightened. Gaara turned his face away and bit his bruised lip with a groan, shuddering at the pressure building in his body.

Gaara twisted and arched his neck as he both struggled and thrived under Lee's hands. Lee's bare chest was pressing against him, and he could feel the bulge in the other's pants meeting his own. "Shit- Lee-"

Lee kissed his way down the column of Gaara's neck, his breath ghosting hot against the sorcerer's skin while he bunched Gaara's shirt up his chest. He admired the play of light and shadow on Gaara's chest from the candles, before trailing open mouthed kisses on his breast, raking his teeth none too lightly when he reached a perked nipple. Two tendrils pulled down his own pants and freed his cock. He was already hard, the head of his dick swelled and glistening with pre-cum.

"Shh," he murmured, moving down Gaara's body and continuing to molest the sorcerer's skin with kisses and bites, while his eyes slid up to watch Gaara's face.

He kept the tentacles from touching the redhead's groin, opting to peel off the sleep pants himself.

Gaara rasped thickly and shuddered. "Ah-!" he winced and then groaned in need when Lee's teeth dragged roughly across a nipple, making that spot feel like he'd been scalded, aching with tingling and stinging nerves. He shifted his legs automatically to help Lee as the smith dragged Gaara's pants off his hips, knees, and then ankles, although he continued to jerk at the hold on his wrists and twist fruitlessly away.

The sorcerer tucked his chin into the bunched cloth of his shirt as he looked down between their bodies. He groaned again and felt sweat forming at his brow. Lee's dick looked huge and slick, already ridiculously hard. Gaara's erection was still growing, the dry tip easing out from the foreskin as his body flushed. He threw his head back again and groaned with his breath, trying to stop his lungs from heaving so.

Lee threw Gaara's pants carelessly behind him and pressed the man's legs apart. His dark eyes took in the sight of him greedily, tongue flicking out to wet his lips. "You do not know what I feel when you are on your back with your legs open to me," he said, before bending down to kiss the tip of Gaara's slowly hardening length. He licked the slit at the head slowly, swirling his tongue around it to tease and arouse. Even when Gaara's head was thrown back, he could feel the twitches and shudders going through his body- familiar cues he followed to press on Gaara's sensitive spots. The hands on Gaara's thighs stroked the smooth skin down to his ass, until his thumbs pulled his cheeks apart and exposed the sweet pucker between them.

A thin tendril wrapped around the base of Gaara's dick and squeezed lightly. Lee hummed against Gaara's length while another tendril made its way down Gaara's thigh. It had been too long since they'd done anything like this, and Lee was going to wring out every gasp, cry and moan of pleasure he could from the sorcerer.

Gaara's eyes widened as he felt the wet, warm flesh of Lee's lips and the teasing drag of his tongue. He shuddered heavily and felt his arms start to tremble above him, and the skin of his thighs shivered under the smith's stroking. He was so exposed, so open and vulnerable like this, on his back, tied down with Lee's hands spreading his ass and the man's mouth on his dick. Adrenalin was making Gaara's thoughts unfocused as his eyes lidded. He could feel the heavy thundering of his heart as if it were beating against his skin from the outside.

His voice stuttered as Lee did something especially sinful with the tip of his tongue, brows furrowing and his mouth stretched wide for his heavy breath. "Why- does it feel- mn!- so good when you do this- to me...?" Gaara moaned and jerked compulsively at his wrists, curling and uncurling his fingers.

Lee's brows furrowed at Gaara's question and the answer he was tempted to give, but he simply slid his lips down Gaara's cock and swallowed him with a groan. The tendril around Gaara's cock began to pulse in time with Lee's sucks to mask the sudden probe of the other tendril slipping inside the sorcerer. It secreted a thick liquid not unlike the first time the demon had aided Lee's efforts.

The demon's voice whispered in Lee's mind of the perversions they could inflict on Gaara, ones that the sorcerer would enjoy, and the smith's eyes lidded as he pulled back from Gaara's cock with a gasp. "You...you are mine tonight," he panted, need and desire clouding his judgement as more tentacles wrapped around Gaara's body in preparation. "Not Naruto's or anyone else's."

With a jerk, Gaara was lifted up and hung upside down, a thick tentacle around his waist and smaller ones wrapped around hind hips and legs keeping him in place. The tentacle on his wrists stayed taut to stop him from breaking free. Lee pushed off the floor and stroked himself with a hiss to relieve the tension building in his balls. Moving to stand in front of Gaara, he brushed his cock against the sorcerer's lips. "Suck."

Gaara cried out in shock and disorientation, pausing for a few dizzy seconds before he felt Lee's dick prodding at his lips. It was so odd to look at the smith's groin from this angle, the bulging of his balls between his legs and the underside of his cock. Gaara's eyes lidded as he opened his mouth and took the head of Lee's between his lips, licking sloppily as he still struggled to orient himself.

The sorcerer's face twisted and his legs tried to kick above him, but the tentacles wouldn't let him move. He could still feel the one inside his ass, stroking and twisting as it prepared him and make his muscles tingle with that wicked lubrication. He tried to lift his hands to grip Lee's body, but he had no control. Gaara made a muffled groan as he dragged his tongue across the edge of Lee's cockhead and felt it press against the roof of his mouth.

"Nn...your mouth is so hot." Lee wrapped an arm around Gaara's waist and slowly pushed deeper into his mouth, the head of his dick rubbing against the soft wet palate as Lee tested how far he could go before Gaara's gag reflex triggered.

Their positions gave Lee a good view of the tentacle delving into Gaara's ass and the slight bob of his dick whenever he tried to struggle. A loped grin crossed his face before he fondled Gaara's sac and wrapped his hand around the swelling tendril pushing into Gaara. It thickened in response as he began to thrust it in and out of the sorcerer by hand.

"Mmmph! Unnph-mmmhn-!" Gaara was too overwhelmed to stop the low, delicious moans that emerged from his throat, muffled by Lee's dick as the smith fucked his mouth slowly. He could feel how Lee was manipulating his body between his legs, touching him and guiding the tentacle, and the very feeling of being unable to control any part of his own body was making Gaara flush hotter as the blood continued to rush to his head.

He could feel the way Lee would sink deeper in his mouth and toward his throat with each thrust, but he didn't fight it until he felt the man press just a bit to far and made him jerk his head back and choke briefly. He panted and shuddered, finding it almost impossible to swallow the salty, bitter taste in his mouth back in this position. Gaara licked the top of Lee's cock- the underside from his angle- then pulled it back between his lips and continued sucking with hollowed cheeks. He clenched his ass around the tentacle and curled his toes with a renewed shudder of pleasure.

Lee licked his lips as he felt Gaara's body tense, the crackle of magic that connected them humming with their pleasure. Gaara's mouth felt amazing around his cock, almost as good as Gaara letting him do this in the first place, but this was just the start of their night. He quickened the tentacle's thrusts and began to fuck Gaara's mouth in pace with it, moaning as he felt the tension building at the base of his cock and balls.

"Nnghh...m'close...!" he ground out before latching his teeth around Gaara's inner thigh and pumping his hips in short, shallow thrusts. With a groan, he came into the sorcerer's mouth, shooting his seed at the back of Gaara's throat and filling his tongue with salty cum.

Gaara's eyes widened and he pulled his head back with a small, muffled cough. He tried to swallow as his mouth was filled with Lee's cum, but it was too difficult upside down and he felt most of it slipping from the corner of his mouth, dripping down his cheek and to the floor beneath them. He groaned and twisted his body with needy urges, trying to pull his wrists free and roll his hips back against the continuously bulging tentacle as the pressure inside him increased and his dick ached. Even Lee's teeth sinking into his thigh felt amazing.

He wanted to come. The rush of blood to his head was almost becoming painful and there wasn't any stretch of his skin that wasn't sensitive and tingling as the tentacles slithered across his body. Gaara's shirt was still bunched around his chest, but fell to cover his head as he arched. He was so close he could taste it, feel it coming like thunder, but couldn't quite reach that peak on his own. "Fuck- Lee- please-!"

Lee was panting as he struggled to catch his breath, pulling back when Gaara began to twist his body. But the man's plea had Lee's eyes snapping open in renewed arousal. The sight of Gaara's shirt covering his head would almost be comical if the smith's mind wasn't so sex-addled. Slowly turning Gaara back upright, he pulled the shirt all the way off Gaara's head and let it hang from the tentacle wrapped around his wrists.

Catching Gaara's face in both hands, he kissed him deeply, ignoring his own cum dripping from Gaara's mouth, and rubbed at his temples to ease the blood flow. "I want you," he murmured, moving both of them back towards the bed even as the tentacle inside the other man began to pull out. "So much."

He sat back once his knees hit the edge of the mattress, the tentacles lowering Gaara onto his lap and freeing his hands. Only the thick limb at his waist and the small tendril wrapped around his cock remained. Lee's arms were already around Gaara's waist one more as he whispered. "Tell me how I can please you."

Gaara sighed throatily in relief, though he would have swayed with dizziness if it weren't for Lee's hands holding his head as the blood returned. His vision swam briefly, a hazy image of Lee's black eyes before he could focus again. He fell against the other man, wrapping his arms around Lee and running his hands over all the skin he could, now that he was free. He could already feel the bruises forming where he'd struggled against the tentacles, but he didn't begrudge it. He slid his hands around Lee's shoulders and gripped his back as he pulled closer with a grunt as his hard dick pressed against Lee's stomach.

It took a few long seconds before Gaara could calm his breathing enough to reply. He tilted his head and pressed his lips hotly against Lee's cheek, still dizzy and unfocused as he reveled in the pleasure that this man was touching him, after so long and so much unspoken tension. "I want you to fuck me. On my knees, on my back- I don't care how. Touch me and fuck me and don't stop- fuck, you make me so hot, Lee."

Gaara kissed Lee's jaw, his neck, shoulder, and chest with fluttered, quick drags of his mouth and tongue. He wiped at the mess on his face briefly, though left much smeared. He kissed Lee's face again and murmured, "I want to feel you all over my body. It's so good, Lee, when we hold each other like this."

A shiver of delight ran up Lee's back at the things Gaara said and the man's hands running over his body. His cock hardened with each dirty wish the redhead had. Only Gaara ever wanted these things from him, and it stirred a passion in his chest all the way down to his loins. He'd always respected the sorcerer for who he was and the friendship they shared, but Lee was given control in the bedroom. "I can do that," he murmured against Gaara's lips as he kissed him in return. His hands squeezed Gaara's ass, fingers momentarily rubbing against his entrance.

A glint came into his dark eyes, a hint of the demon's smirk lingering on his lips as he guided his cock against Gaara's ass. "I can also let you fuck yourself on my cock. How much do you want to come?" Holding himself in place with one hand, he reached between them and pressed one finger against the red tip of Gaara's length. The tendril around its base squeezed and pulsed in silent reminder of Lee's hold on him even now.

Gaara moaned softly and felt his hips thrust shallowly against the tentacle and Lee's body, then press back against the man's cock as it teased him. "Mngh- I don't know- I'm ready to burst right now." Gaara ran his hand along the side of Lee's face and his throat, feeling the other man's pulse and touching his collarbone as his chest rose and fell. "Two times? I can do two."

Reaching behind him, Gaara felt Lee's cock with his fingers, and rocked back against it. He gasped shallowly as he rocked back again and felt it press just inside him, spreading him open. He took it slowly, rocking back a little deeper each time until he could put his hand back around Lee's shoulders and groan into his neck at the hot, filling pressure.

Lee gasped as Gaara began to take him in, the hand on Gaara's ass squeezing his cheek and pulling it to the side, and the other wrapping around his waist. "Twice," he agreed, marks of the demon flickering on his cheeks as licked his lips, and began to pull the sorcerer down on his lap in time with Gaara's rocking. The tentacle around Gaara's waist pulled and pushed him up and down, urging him to seat himself fully on Lee's dick.

The smith bowed his head and sucked on a patch of skin along Gaara's neck, nibbling and sucking to leave his mark on the man. He could feel the heat of Gaara's arousal and the quick pulse throbbing under his mouth and the cock pressed against his stomach. "Gaara." It was the only warning he gave before the tentacle pulled Gaara all the way down Lee's lap.

The sorcerer groaned tightly and jerked as he was forced to accommodate the full girth and depth of Lee's erection, dragged about by the tentacle and Lee's hands on his ass. It was so much, so hot-! Gaara paused and then rolled his hips against Lee's, grinding against that feeling. He reached down between them, just squeezing himself once before he came with a guttural cry. His eyes widened blindly, then lidded with a sigh of relief as the pressure finally became manageable.

Returning his hands to Lee's shoulders, Gaara began to lift and lower himself on Lee's cock. Slowly at first, with a harder plunge thrown in when the tentacle would grip his waist tighter. Gaara closed his eyes and let his head fall back briefly, exposing his throat to the warm, flickering light of the candles.

Gaara looked beautiful in the candlelight, his mouth and cheeks glistening with cum while his pale, lean body moved together with Lee's upward thrusts. Lee didn't think he'd ever be attracted to another man. Hands helping Gaara move, he leaned forward and plied the sorcerer's throat with soft, sweet kisses. The demon's energy was strong in him now, and the heat in his groin was building from their steady fucking. His tongue toyed with the man's adam's apple as he reached between them and stroked Gaara's still sensitive cock.

Lee shut his eyes as well, listening to their heavy breaths, the slap of skin on skin, and the groans from both himself and the other man.

The tenderness in Lee's kisses caught Gaara by surprise, making him slowly open his eyes and tilt his head to see Lee's face. He was flushed and dazed, obviously lost in the swell of pleasure. Lee could become so absorbed in their sex, sometimes Gaara wondered if Lee would be able to focus on anything else once they were finished fucking, though of course Lee always grinned and returned to himself. Usually.

Gaara felt his cheeks warming as he shuddered, enjoying Lee's tongue across the sensitive skin of his neck and collar. He closed his eyes again and pulled himself closer, wrapping his arms tighter around Lee's body in an embrace as he moaned. His cock dragged against Lee's stomach as he ducked his head forward and pressed his lips against the other man's temple, panting against his hair.

With a quiet groan, Lee slipped his strong arms under Gaara's legs and bent them, and began to lift and thrust Gaara down on his cock himself. The thick tentacle around Gaara's waist receded back into his arm as the one on his cock began to stroke and swirl around its head. When his eyes opened into lidded slits, they were back to his normal brown despite the markings still writhing on his skin. The sorcerer's lips against his temple and his breath ghosting over his ear brought a shiver running down his back, and he kissed the man's neck for it, tasting the light sheen of sweat gathering on his skin.

It was getting too hot in their room, the candles burning down to stumps and all he could taste and hear and smell was the man in his arms. He wasn't going to last long at this rate. His upward thrusts were growing faster and with a slight shift of his hips, he tilted his thrusts in that familiar angle. Shutting his eyes tight again, he mouthed a silent note of affection against Gaara's ear before he lost himself in the pleasure.

Gaara shuddered and let Lee lift and lower his body, moaning wantonly when the speed picked up subtly. He rolled his hips into the sensations, gripping Lee's shoulders tighter with each thrust inside his body and stroke of his prostate. The added stimulation of the tentacle as it squeezed and swirled around his dick was bringing him too close to the edge, threatening to break his control and make him come. At the same time however, it was the knowledge that Lee was holding him and fucking him and touching him that made his body shiver strongest.

Sliding a hand up to clutch Lee's cheek, Gaara groaned softly as he pressed their mouths together. It was so hot, so good- he flicked his tongue inside Lee's mouth and kissed him again and again as the coiling in his stomach drew taught and threatened to snap.

Meeting Gaara's kisses with increasing passion, Lee tangled their tongues together with a moan as he curled against the other man and thrust him all the way down his cock. His dick throbbed before he came for the second time, tasting himself on Gaara's lips and haunted by the thought of this man giving his whole body to him. Groaning Gaara's name in their kiss, the smith ground his hips up as waves of pleasure washed over him and the last of the candles died with a trail of smoke.

The demon was feeding on their pleasure once more, drawing out the intense sensations of their bodies meeting and their veins humming. Shuddering, he pulled Gaara up and thrust him back down once more at the same time as the tentacle tightened around the sorcerer's cock.

Gaara's eyes widened and his voice tore from him, low and powerful with ecstasy as he came. His body jerked against Lee's and his arms grasped at the smith like it was his lifeline as the pleasure, real and hot in his gut spread and boiled in his body. He groaned Lee's name and buried his face in the man's neck as he slowly came down from his high.

The sorcerer breathed in slowly, absorbing Lee's musky, delicious scent with soft delight. He'd never tire of this. He never wanted to lose this. This man, his friend, the loud and occasionally klutzy, yet ox-strong smith, all his to touch and kiss and embrace. Gaara's body softened and leaned against Lee as he panted and held him close.

Lee breathed out with a deep and satisfied sigh. His thighs ached from thrusting and they'd be sore on horseback tomorrow, but it was worth it to release the tension that had been building between them, even if things hadn't gone as he'd wanted. Slowly lowering himself down on the bed, he left Gaara sprawled across his chest as he eased himself out of the sorcerer and simply wrapped an arm around the other man.

In the darkness of the room, he could only hope that they succeed in this quest even if the future took them to separate paths in the end.


	14. Chapter 14 (NSFW!)

**AN: This chapter is Not Safe For Work! (And thanks very much to everyone who's been reading so far.)**

* * *

"Four...five...six gold pieces for our stay including meals," Lee counted out, pushing the small column of coins towards the innkeeper as he hefted his pack. It was later than they'd planned to leave but sleeping in had been unavoidable with their energetic night together.

The innkeeper counted the coins again before tapping the pile against the bar for luck. "Sleep well? Some of the other guests were complaining about a ruckus last night." Coughing into a hand, the man slipped the coins into a pouch and scratched at his arm. "Must have been a wild night for somebody."

Lee's face turned a deep shade of red as he suddenly felt like all eyes were on him and Gaara."O-Oh! Is that so? We did not really notice the noise."

"Was going to have the missus go up and see what's what, but the old bird started talking about an evil presence. Hah! As if this inn is worth a haunting." The innkeeper snorted while Lee glanced at Gaara with wide eyes for help.

For once, the sorcerer couldn't hold back a genuine smirk, different from his usual sardonic one. He wasn't sure if the old man was toying with them, but Gaara could believe that they might have attracted some attention last night. They usually only had sex in the privacy of Gaara's mansion, so he hadn't considered that anyone else might sense the demon's presence while they were otherwise absorbed. He rolled his eyes and stepped toward the smith, wrapping an arm intimately around his waist. "It's time we got on our way, Lee."

Gaara didn't let go, enjoying the shade of red on Lee's face and the odd looks thrown their way as they stepped out the door. They probably wouldn't be coming back to this inn for years anyway, if then. It didn't hurt to leave an impression.

"The saddles are packed, and I don't think we've forgotten anything. Are you ready?"

The smith was surprised at the arm around his waist, but he took the cue to leave with the innkeeper shaking his head at them. They started heading towards the stables to pick up their horses. "I am ready. My gremlin friend already went ahead to the stables."

Lee studied Gaara's face for a moment, picking up on the sorcerer's good mood and the subtle eagerness in his eyes to begin the real hunt for Shukaku. Nothing else had been said between them about what spurred last night's fucking, and Lee wasn't about to bring it up again now or any time soon. He straightened up and lifted the strap on Gaara's shoulder, which held that ridiculously large gourd on his back. "Are you sure you do not want me to carry this? It will be a long ride to the desert from what I hear-"

"HEY! Bushybrows and you bastard, Gaara!" A blond streak barreled towards them from behind before Naruto squeezed his way between the two and hooked his arms around both men. "Did you think you could fucking sneak past the Great Hokage?" Naruto grinned, voicing out a nickname he'd earned through years of causing both trouble and good in every town and village he passed through.

"If it meant I could avoid bursting an eardrum, then yes, we were specifically avoiding you." Gaara winced and clapped a hand over his ear. Naruto had always been loud, and had a habit of being loud in other people's personal space. He didn't pull away however, choosing to look straight ahead as he continued to walk toward the stables. "I assume that means you're coming with us?"

"Hells yeah! Remember when you tried taking on that hydra without me? You were totally snake food until I showed up and saved your ass! This would totally be the same." Naruto squeezed the two men's shoulders, completely comfortable as he trailed behind them.

"Have you traveled a lot with Master Gaara?" Lee asked, lips pulling into a grin as well. The wariness he had about Naruto and the man's relationship with Gaara, seemed to fade with the night's activities. "To be honest, he has never spoken much about his friends. I am happy to know that he has loyal friends like you who kept him safe."

Naruto threw his head back and laughed as they reached the stables. "I'm more than a damned friend! Gaara wouldn't be the man he is without me." He let go of them and had his own horse fetched while Lee paid the stablehand for rent.

"Is Naruto a sorcerer too?" Lee whispered to Gaara. "I felt magic in his hands when we shook yesterday."

"Yes, he is. His talents are very different than mine, but I'd say we're close to equal in strength." Gaara's mouth twitched in a stubborn frown. "And by the way, he did not save me from that damned hydra. He burst in just as I was banishing the creature's last head, and caused it to multiply four more times."

Gaara took the reins as a stablehand brought his mare forward. The redhead petted its neck and scratched it's dark muzzle in greeting before slipping a foot into the stirrup and pulling himself into the saddle. He turned his head as he spotted Naruto approaching from the other end of the stables.

The stallion Naruto handled was a red-brown appaloosa that pawed at the ground impatiently as the blond man patted its side. "Easy, Rasengan. We've got a long ride ahead." He guided it towards Gaara's and Lee's horses, the latter of which was a black mare with a white nose and legs. "I've got some time to burn, and Gaara here would be lost without me!"

"You are welcome to join us on the road. It never hurts to have more people for safety and company." Lee grinned, strapping Gaara's gourd safely on the back of the man's horse. His gremlin settled on his neck once he'd finished packing everything on his own horse's saddle and was mounted on her. Clicking his tongue, he started leading their party out the stable and towards the city gates.

"See? Lee likes me, too!" Naruto snickered and ribbed Gaara with an elbow in jest before following after the other man.

Gaara rolled his eyes, but allowed a smile as he followed friends away from the inn. To be honest, he thought it might be a bit of a relief to have Naruto along for their journey. Finally having sex with Lee again had helped relieve the tension between them, but Gaara was sure the strain in their relationship wasn't gone yet. In fact, he was secretly anxious about Lee's decisions after they managed to kill Shukaku. The smith couldn't leave him, or so he had thought, but he had to wonder what Lee was planning for his future. Having Naruto around as a mediator might be enough to ease any tension between them.

* * *

"Hey Gaara, maybe we should move our bedrolls a bit closer, huh? It can get pretty cold after dark, and we wanna keep warm." Naruto raised his brows and winked suggestively as he looked at the redhead over his pack. They'd found a place to camp for the night just outside the first mountain pass, and each of the men was getting ready for the night. Gaara had started a small fire already and was unpacking his bedding. He pretended not to notice his blond friend's suggestive jesting.

Lee raised his brows at Naruto's jibe but made a point of unrolling his pack beside Gaara's near the fire. The blonde sorcerer's company was good fun, with his bottomless well of stories to share, and what seemed to be the sun burning inside him. Their trip had grown a lot livelier since he had joined them, but Naruto's jokes were starting to get on Lee's nerves. It was now glaringly obvious that something had gone on between the two sorcerers long ago with the kind of jokes he told.

"You are free to sleep next to me if you wish," Lee said, scanning the area around them. "We should not leave the fire alone. I can take first watch."

Naruto rolled onto his stomach and hummed with mischief in his eyes. Lee was just so easy. "Aww don't be like that. I won't jump anyone tonight. At least, not when you're awake, hehe."

"The last time you tried that, Haku put an icicle in your back. Things won't be different this time." Gaara pulled a small bag out of his pack. He sat on his bedding and pulled a strip of salted jerky out of the bag, tearing into an end with his teeth and chewing hungrily. They'd snacked briefly on the road, but hadn't had much to eat since they'd left the city.

"That only happened once, and he was the one to apologize after the fact," the Great Hokage stated with dignity. He held out his hand and Gaara passed him another strip of the jerky, then held one up for Lee as well.

"How long have you two known each other? It sounds like you accompanied Master Gaara on most of his quests." Lee accepted the jerky and gnawed at his strip as he tilted his head towards Naruto in thanks.

Naruto rolled his shoulders as he sat back on his bedding. "We've known each other for years. Met him back when we were just apprentices and I was just starting to become my charming self, hah! Didn't you used to like fishnet clothes back then?" He snickered, glancing at Gaara.

"I prefer leather and clasps now," Gaara responded, running a finger over the leg of his tight black pants in thought. "I noticed you still favor orange… though I still don't understand why."

"Orange is damn sexy and you sure as hell know it," Naruto responded with a matter-of-fact attitude, lifting his nose with dignity.

Gaara rolled his eyes. He liked this mild banter back and forth with his old friend, even if Naruto was teasing with innuendos a lot more than usual lately. It made him feel comfortable and relaxed, even for a short moment before he was focused on his quest again. He cocked his head with a small yawn.

Lee swallowed when he caught the way Gaara stroked his own leg, last night's sex still on his mind. Not even Naruto's presence could suppress the desire he felt whenever Gaara did something unconsciously sexy. He finished the last of his jerky and stood up, dusting his hands on his pants. "You both should get some rest. I will stay up no matter what happens, even if I need to keep pinching myself to do so!" He flashed both men a grin and a thumbs up before taking his place on one of the logs around the fire.

"Fine, fine. Wake me for the second watch, will ya?" Naruto tucked himself on his bedding and rolled away from the fire.

The orange glow from the flames reflected on Lee's eyes, which flickered black as sleep fell over the two men.

* * *

The night grew darker with every passing moment. Lee's skin prickled as a cold wind blew threw their camp and threatened to extinguish the fire. No matter what he did, it was hard to keep the fire going. The wood was damp from the last days' rains and the smith kept getting distracted whenever he allowed his mind to wander even a for a second.

It was barely two hours after his watch started, but the demon was a constant whisper in his mind. Lee took his eyes off the fire to look at Gaara, his brows knitting and his tongue whetting his dry lips. It felt like what they did last night broke down the control he'd been keeping over his libido. He didn't know what was going happen after they defeated Shukaku, but now that they were so close to finding him, the reality of what they were going to do crashed down on him. If one or both of them died in this attempt, these nights would be the last time they could hold each other. With or without the emotional connection Lee wanted so much to have with him.

With the demon egging him on, black tendrils crept over Lee's face as he reached out towards the sorcerer, shadows making up for the distance between them. Tentacles nudged their way under Gaara's blanket and began to crawl and curl over the other's body.

The sorcerer had fallen deeply asleep not long after initially laying under the covers of his sleeping mat, safe and relaxed in the company of his friends. His dreams were vague and indistinguishable, drifting from one setting to the next with endless transition, until he finally felt something tugging at the back of his awareness. His breath shivered briefly with the night's cold and the death of the fire, and Gaara slowly rolled his head to the side as he began to wake.

There was something strange happening. However, it was so familiar that for a brief moment of confusion, Gaara couldn't understand why he should be concerned. This thoughts abruptly came into focus however when he opened his eyes to the dark, cloudy sky and felt the tentacles slithering under his shirt to reach his bare skin. He gasped silently and turned his head, looking for Lee.

Gaara spotted him, surprisingly close in front of the dead, smoking fire and looking at him with black eyes. The sorcerer opened his mouth to say something, then furrowed his brows and shot a furtive glance across the campsite and closed his mouth in silence- Naruto was asleep less than twenty feet away.

Lee's eyes lidded when Gaara opened his eyes and looked at him. His lips were parted, his hot breath puffing in the night air like fog. He only took a glance towards their blond companion before he sent his tentacles moving higher up Gaara's body. Tongues flicked out from the tips once they reached the redhead's skin, flicking over the sensitive dips and curves of his flesh while Lee watched on. A flush rose to his cheeks as a thick tentacle lifted the bottom half of Gaara's blanket to show what the rest of the tendrils were doing to him.

He pressed a finger to his lips while the tongues found Gaara's nipples and began a slow, circular teasing. Other tendrils flicked over Gaara's neck and trailed over the soft bob of his adam's apple and the faint ridges of his collarbones. Lee's lips curled up in one side briefly with more than a bit of the demon in it, before the man moved his legs wider and rested his hands on his knees languidly while his tentacles began the slow molestation.

Gaara shivered and his hands curled into fists against his sleeping mat as the lifted blanket allowed a mean breath of cold air to drift across his skin, hardening his nipples further than the tongues were already doing to him. He shook his head at Lee, eyes wide with understanding of the smith's intent. They couldn't do this now! They were out in the open, and Naruto could easily look over and see them if he woke. The redhead bit his lip to hold back a soft moan, squirming subtly and trying to stay silent as the wet tongues and cool flesh dragged across his sensitive skin.

Lifting his head, Gaara tried to push a tentacle away from his nipples, but it was only replaced by two more before he could get any relief. He gasped and shivered harder when one of the thicker tentacles ground across his crotch, only to move onto teasing other places on his body. Gaara's toes curled and his head fell back again, jaw dropping and eyes closing tightly as a tongue trailed along his neck and made him squirm tighter as he tried to stay silent.

Gaara's subtle squirming brought a shudder of desire through Lee. There were no sensations from the tentacles, but the sight of the redhead and the situation they were in turned Lee on almost as quickly as when Gaara touched him. A tentacle delved between Gaara's legs to rub between his covered thighs, the leather causing the hot friction. Another nuzzled against Gaara's parted mouth before slipping deviously past his lips to tangle its tongue with his own and muffling him.

Lee began to rub the crotch of his pants, eyes locked onto Gaara's form and the treat shown under the blankets. More tendrils were working on the sorcerer's clothes, inching them off with each slither and pull. From behind, two thin tendrils curled around the nape of Gaara's neck, tickling the fine hairs there while Lee suppressed a groan.

It was getting harder to breathe. Gaara began to pant softly as his eyes lidded and the molestation continued. He flicked his tongue with the tentacle's in his mouth, tightening his lips around it on instinct. It tasted vaguely salty and fleshy against his palliate, making him shudder and grind his knees together as he felt himself being turned on. He really, really shouldn't be letting this happen right now, but at the same time how could he say no? He'd been longing for the barrier between himself and Lee to break and allow them to touch and be together like before.

As the cloth of Gaara's pants finally slid low enough to expose the head of his hardening erection, the tentacle in his mouth muffled his gasp. The air was still crisp, even if the sorcerer could feel his body heating and his veins surging. He reached down and clasped himself in hand, turning his head to look up at Lee again. He moved his other hand to hold the girth of the tentacle that writhed between his lips, making him hollow his cheeks as his tongue circled the flesh. He felt a pulse in his dick as he saw Lee's hands reaching between his own legs.

A soft moan escaped Lee's lips before he bit his lips from the inside. Even if he was the one controlling the tentacles, Gaara could make his knees weak with one look. He pulled down the front of his pants and palmed himself, still looking at the sorcerer. A cloud passed over the moon, shrouding them in darkness for a second as thin tendrils slid in the valley between Gaara's ass and rubbed against his entrance.

The tentacle in Gaara's mouth began to thrust slowly, the tongue twirling around the sorcerer's and licking at his teeth inside. His leg was lifted by a thick limb, turning him sideways as the blanket was completely thrown off his hips and legs.

Lee pressed his thumb against the weeping slit of his dick. A quick glance at Naruto assured him that the blond man was still asleep. He wouldn't be surprised if the demon did something just so his lusts would be fulfilled.

Gaara's eyes shut and a quiet, muffled groan of perverse pleasure left him as the tongue of the tentacle thrust in his mouth, mimicking the usual delicious push and pull of Lee's dick. Gaara released his hold on the base near his mouth and let the length do as it wished. Instead his hand reached out toward Lee in a weak grabbing motion before pulling back to his body to cover a perked nipple, needing relief from the overwhelming sensations.

The sorcerer began to slide the grip of his hand up and down his dick in time with the thrusting in his mouth, eliciting a pool of arousal and warmth in his gut. His hips twitched with his hand and it was getting harder to focus his eyes as he looked at the smith. He made the grabbing gesture again, before returning his hand to his other nipple, this time pinching it himself and tightening his grip.

Lee grit his teeth in response to Gaara's quiet groans. With the embers of their bonfire already fading, all he could see were the dark twists of his tentacles and hints of the other man's pale skin as they coiled and writhed around him. Gaara's shadowed face was beautiful and erotic under the moonlight, and his active participation was even more arousing than the things the demon whispered in his mind. The tentacles behind the sorcerer began to lick at his entrance, while those in front rubbed at the head of Gaara's cock. A sheen of that clear liquid covered the limbs and the parts of Gaara's body where they touched.

The smith squeezed the head of his cock as he panted quietly, momentarily undecided whether to keep watching or touch the other man himself. With a faint moan of Gaara's name, he braced himself with an arm back and began to stroke himself; his dark eyes glinting with desire as the tentacles renewed their efforts to pleasure Gaara. A thick tongue coiled around the base of Gaara's cock and balls, squeezing and pulsing tight enough to restrain an orgasm. Another slipped past the man's tight ring of muscle in his ass and rubbed against his walls inside.

"Hah-" Gaara's mouth widened to moan softly, almost silently around the tentacle in his mouth. He stroked just a touch faster than the languid push and pull of delicious touch and sensations that had been moving across his body, but squeezed his eyes shut with a shudder at the hold around the base of his dick. Lee always had so much control over him in these situations, playing his body like an instrument and ripping the orgasm out of him at just the right moment. It was always so much, so good! Gaara's hips twitched forward, prodding his cockhead against the rubbing tentacles.

Gaara tugged his nipple with a strangled breath as the tentacle that was sliding in and out of his ass slowly began to thicken and pry his body open. The bittersweet sting through the ring of muscle was familiar and welcome as the sorcerer threw his head back, finally pulling his lips off the tentacle for a moment so that he could gasp and breathe in ragged pants through his mouth.

The faint sounds of Gaara's muffled moans and pants were loud in Lee's ears, making him hyperaware of Naruto sleeping just a few feet away. His tentacles barely gave Gaara a moment to rest before they began to thrust and grind against him in increasingly faster movements. The thick limb was thrusting deep inside the sorcerer now, licking at his prostate whenever it drew back before the blunt end brushed against the cluster of nerves.

Lee slowly got up and moved on his knees towards Gaara's bedding, while his hand continued to stroke his dick. Everything felt hot despite the cool night air. "Gaara," he breathed out, moving his hips in time with the tentacles. He was just out of reach of the sorcerer, but he could see every shudder and every tremble going through him this close.

Gaara brought his fist up to his mouth and bit it tightly, trying not to cry out each time the tentacle thrust inside his body, sliding and twisting in ways that a dick couldn't. There was so much pressure building in his body! Tightening violent and hot in his gut as his hand jerked and his body continued to be lavished. He could taste blood in his mouth and feel his heartbeat raging in his throat. He twisted his head to and fro, then pinned his eyes on Lee with a note of desperation.

"Lee..." he hissed, his body shuddering. He was so close! He wanted to come, but Lee's tentacles were still too tight around the base of his dick, holding him back. Gaara reached out for the smith, his fingers just falling short as his hips rocked and his eyes pleaded.

With Gaara hissing his name, Lee's eyes lidded in barely constrained desire as he shifted forward to press his cock against the man's hand. "Make me come," he whispered, his eyes solid black with the demon's influence running high in him. As much as he loved hearing Gaara's voice, he raised the abandoned tentacle again and gently nudged it at Gaara's fist. He licked his lips and lowered his voice. "Bite down on that unless you want Naruto to hear."

Gaara's leg was lifted higher by the tentacle around his leg, and the one in his ass began to piston in and out of him relentlessly, all without releasing the pressure around his balls and cock.

"Nnghmn-!" Gaara did as he was told, replacing the fist in his mouth with the tentacle and bit down to hold back his cries. The flesh of it was tougher than he expected and muffled him better than his fist could. His body was shaking and arching as his ass was pounded, his eyes welling with the pressure and the need to come! Gaara closed his eyes tightly, but could still feel Lee's hard cock pressing into his hand.

Instinctively, Gaara wrapped his fingers around Lee's dick and gripped tightly. He stroked the other man quickly, rubbing at the head when he could and struggling not to let his fingers slip as his range of concentration waned. He squeezed and stroked himself and Lee together, feeling perverse and overwhelmed with pleasure.

"Ahh...!" Lee gasped, eyes shutting tight for a second when he felt Gaara's hand around him. A quick glance at Naruto's still form and he drew nearer towards the other man, closing his fingers around Gaara's hand to guide his strokes. Just watching the sorcerer get fucked was enough to bring him dangerously close to the brink. He slipped his free hand through Gaara's hair and tilted the man's head back so he could see the tentacle fucking his mouth.

"Gaara-" A shudder went through Lee's body as the pressure around Gaara's cock and balls finally let up. Lee's face twisted in restraint, willing his tentacles to pleasure the redhead first.

If Lee hadn't been guiding Gaara's hand, the sorcerer would have all but forgotten about his efforts to stroke Lee in return for the tentacle in his ass, mouth, and the mass of them crawling still across his skin. When he felt the tightness around his dick and sac finally loosen and let the blood flow freely, Gaara's eyes squeezed tightly shut and his body arched as he came. Pleasure, hot and violent and immediate exploded from his groin and shot through his body like wildfire. He allowed his body to be lifted and handled by the tentacles until the amazing, tingling spasms finally calmed to a delicious buzz of wicked delight.

The sorcerer pulled back and gasped as he pushed the tentacle away from his mouth, smearing strands of saliva across his face. His body was shaking still, and the tentacle that was still pounding in and out of his ass followed him from behind as he pulled himself closer to Lee and wrapped his lips around the man's cock. He bobbed his head up and down on Lee'd dick, in time with the quick push and pull of the tentacle inside his body.

The hot, velvety suction on the head of his cock snapped Lee's attention from watching Gaara's body shake and twist against the tentacles. His hand tightened around Gaara's hair, quickening the sorcerer as he reached his peak. Groaning low, he slid into the man's mouth with small, quick thrusts as his orgasm washed over him.

When Lee finally had the presence of mind to start breathing again, he had his tentacles slowly lower Gaara's body back on the bedding and slide back into his arms. Looking down at the redhead with lidded eyes and panting, he moved his hips back until his dick slid out of Gaara's mouth with a wet pop. His eyes were still jet black when he bent down and kissed the other man roughly, teeth raking over his lips and a bruising force behind his kisses.

Gaara let Lee handle him, just raising a hand to grip the other man's hold on his face in return as his mouth was roughly molested. He groaned softly, his throat a tad sore from swallowing and sucking on Lee's cock, but still felt his heart beating hot and fast in his veins. When Lee finally released him, Gaara wiped at the mess of saliva and cum around his face.

"Next time, warn me so we can have more privacy," Gaara whispered hoarsely, still clinging to Lee's wrist. He looked up at the smith with lidded eyes, which glowed brighter as a cloud exposed a sliver of moonlight in contrast to the jet black of Lee's gaze.

Lee's lips quirked up in a small smile but simply nodded in assent. They had made a mess of Gaara's side of the camp, but it was worth looking into the other man's eyes and seeing him sated. "I get the feeling you enjoyed it nonetheless," he whispered back before searching his pants for a clean rag and tucking himself back in once he was clean.

His eyes were still black when he glanced over at Naruto then cupped Gaara's jaw. "Get some rest, Master Gaara. My shift is not over yet."

Gaara nodded and turned his head to kiss Lee's palm briefly. He slid back into his bedding, pulling his covers back over himself and huddling as his eyes closed with sleepiness. His post orgasmic body felt like something warm, delicious, and gooey. He could feel some soreness in the places that had been treated more roughly than others, but it was the good kind of sore that meant the pleasure had been intense. The sorcerer fell asleep quickly, and rested deeply.


	15. Chapter 15

"So you know, I had these really weird ass dreams the other night," Naruto contemplated loudly as the three men crossed a shallow stream while leading their horses along. "There was a demon involved, and a lot of fucking too. I don't like having sex with demons personally, but some people have the strangest fetishes."

Lee's face burned from the back of their party as he led his horse through the water. The blond sorcerer had not shut up with his teasing since two nights ago, and neither was he subtle about it! "O-Oh, that must have been a terrible dream to have," he said with faint laughter as he kept his eyes locked straight on the back of Gaara's head.

The redhead tried not to cringe as he stepped across the shallow stream and pulled his horse forward by the reins. He should have known better than to think Naruto would obliviously sleep undisturbed while he and Lee had sex less than twenty feet away, in the open air. Naruto was a powerful, trained sorcerer, of course he was going to notice all that demonic energy. Even if it hadn't been for the demon, Naruto had good instincts and would have woken up anyway.

"It's nobody's place to judge," Gaara commented with a shrug. "I've heard of worse fetishes- didn't I know someone who liked to cast cloning spells in the bedroom to have occasional orgies?"

"That's different! And I remember you weren't exactly opposed to those either," Naruto shot back as he got out of the stream and stomped his boots free of water. "Or to playing 'sand coffin' when you want things done your way."

Lee cleared his throat, eyes wide at the turn of their conversation. With Gaara, it was fine, but Naruto was a whole different story! He had no interest in hearing about anything that happened between him and Gaara. "Really? That sounds extremely tiring," he said weakly, splashing a little as he neared the other side.

Gaara tapped the toes of his boots on the dry ground when they'd finished crossing. He looked over his shoulder at Lee and gave a sympathetic smirk at the look on the smith's face. He shook his head and cut the man a break by changing the subject. "It shouldn't be too much longer now. We'll come across the edge of the desert either tonight or tomorrow morning."

"Fine." Naruto rolled his eyes at Gaara's tact. "As long as I don't have anymore demon fucking dreams until then, I don't care."

Relieved, the smith shot Gaara a grateful look even when his face refused to lose the flush. "If we are heading towards the desert already, we should take some water." Lee glanced at the gourd on Gaara's back and smiled as he knocked on its side. "This will hold enough for two days' travel. We might as well make use of it!"

"Yeah, you'll need it after your 'youthful exercises'," Naruto snickered.

* * *

The line between the forested mountains and the vast expanse of the desert was a blurred beige and green landscape where small patches of grass and trees shot up from both earth and sand. Without any coverage, the sun beat down hot against the sand dunes and illuminated particles of sand blown by the wind.

"Master Gaara!" Lee rode up beside the redhead and offered a long folded cloth. "Here." The smith's face was covered nose down, with his own white strip of cloth wrapped around the lower half of his face. He had a heavy hood on to pull over his eyes, just as Naruto had told him to wear just before they arrived at the border. The wind blew sand everywhere, though what few trees were around them kept the worst of it at bay.

Naruto grinned brightly and ferociously as he beheld the desert, his sage robes billowing around him. "Ahh! Reminds me of the old days, hah! We're fucking old, Gaara." He shook his head. "Once we set foot in the desert, I'd bet my ass Shukaku would know we were hunting him. We should set up camp before we head further in."

"That's a good plan." Gaara took his cloth from Lee with a nod of thanks and wrapped it around his face in a similar fashion to the others'. He felt especially hot in his leather under the blazing sun already, and briefly remembered why he'd liked fishnet so much in the past. He turned and rode his horse to the nearest foilage so that it could stand in the shade. He called over his shoulder. "We'll eat, then come up with a plan of attack tonight. We'll strategize and decide whose powers are best for each method of attack or defense. How are you feeling, Lee? Tell me about the demon's energy if you can."

Lee followed after Gaara and breathed out once he was in the shade. "It is very strong. Ever since the demon... when it took on more power, I feel its presence pulsing in me even when it is not actively manifesting." He patted his horse's neck then swung himself down. Looking up at Gaara, he licked his dry lips. "I do not think you will need me conscious when you fight Shukaku, but I will do my best to help you!"

Getting off his own horse, Naruto slapped Lee on the back good naturedly. "Never a good idea to let a demon take over completely, Lee. You never know when it will fuck you over and refuse to give your body back."

"We'll decide tonight during our plans how best for you to participate," Gaara said, feeling thoughtful as he swung down from his horse and tied the reins loosely to a tall branch. "Naruto's right, we'll try to be careful, but you don't have much experience with combat of any kind."

Gaara furrowed his brows as he raided the bags behind the horse's saddle and began to prepare for their night. This was finally it. Tomorrow they were going to officially be in the danger zone, ready to kill Shukaku or be killed at any moment. Gaara felt better now that they had Naruto on their side, but it was still very possible that someone would be hurt. His old master was an evil, powerful creature with wicked tricks up every sleeve.

When the small party finished setting up camp in an arbor of trees, the sun had begun to set in the distant horizon, giving the area around them a surreal orange glow. Particles of sand glittered in the air while the trees became mere silhouettes amidst the sky.

This close to the desert, there were no streams nearby and Lee had to dig to find trickles of an underground water source where grass still grew from. He was gathering more water for tonight and tomorrow morning, but it was taking a while to sift out the sand and dirt. Most of their water had to be conserved for the trek through the desert, and Lee struggled with unfamiliar fatalist thoughts that whatever happened after the fight, it would be the heat and dehydration that would get them in the end.

Over at the camp, he could hear Naruto's distinctive voice needling Gaara with some inside joke or another. He couldn't help it- he was jealous of how close they were, and how Gaara seemed to be so fond of Naruto. Being this close to the end of their quest had him thinking hard about what would happen when it did.

"When you're done with that, Lee, we'll get started." Gaara had his map of the area laid out some feet away from their fire with a firm line to his lips. Naruto was leaning over the other side, pinpointing their current location.

"Got any ideas on how we're supposed to approach this? You knew the bastard best," the blond murmured thoughtfully.

"Essentially? He's old and losing his strength and sanity, and that's what we'll use against him." Gaara tilted his head and ran a finger along the path they'd taken. "He can't do the bigger, more complicated spells he used to. His body is too slow. The last time I saw him in battle, he basically engulfed his victim in a wave of pure destructive power because he couldn't focus the small steps of a more effective spell."

"If that is how he attacks, then our speed and number would be our advantage," Lee said, heading towards the camp with flasks full of water. He sat down next to Gaara and handed over each man's flask. "It is just like when a cat is trying to catch a single mouse among a group. It cannot attack all of them at once, and usually, its energy is spent trying to catch nearest one." He ran a hand through his hair, a knot forming between his brows at the thought of the fight. "What kind of magic does he perform?"

"Elemental mostly from what I remember of him. And since he's smack in the middle of a goddamn desert, his primary attacks would use that." Naruto snorted and wiped some sand from his nose. "What do you think, Gaara? If one of us acts as bait, would it be enough for two to take him down from behind?"

"It might be. It's likely that he would realize what we were doing once we'd started however, so we'd need to be fast to do enough damage." Gaara crossed his arms and sat back as he considered the map. "It would be difficult to find cover enough to go unnoticed in the desert before we sneak up on him. I think you and I are capable of the cloaking spells we would need, but it would be best if Lee's demon was on the attack. If we tried this, I should be bait."

"Why not me?" Naruto asked, sounding almost indignant at any dismissal toward his ability as bait.

"He'd know something was up. If it was me, he might expect me to come to him alone. You remember how prideful I used to be about that. He doesn't know I've changed."

Lee's brows raised in question. "Changed how? Did you try to go after him before?" he asked. "I do not know if the demon can mask its presence enough to remain unnoticed by a sorcerer. Maybe it would be better if you talk to it about your plans before deciding. I think you mentioned before that the demon was supposed to take care of any protective spells surrounding Shukaku as well."

"Cloaking you wouldn't be a problem. But I don't like the thought of Gaara meeting that old bastard alone," Naruto said. "We need another plan if Shukaku ends up catching you or goes after one of us instead."

"I've made one other attempt some years ago Lee, but I failed," Gaara replied vaguely. "We will talk to the demon tonight to verify our plans, and we'll have another strategy in case things don't flow the way we want them to. A substitution spell comes to mind first, but that's almost too simple."

The sorcerer paused in thought for a few brief seconds, shifting his eyes across the map, until he seemed to reach a conclusion and nodded to himself. He reached across the map and took Lee by the hand, meeting his eyes and calling to the demon silently.

Lee's expression went slack for a second as his pupils expanded until his eyes were completely black. His hand closed over Gaara's by the time the demon's presence emanated from the smith. Swiveling Lee's head towards Naruto, Asmodeus bared Lee's teeth in a tight grin. "Not one, but two people with demons in them. You really want your old master dead, don't you Master Gaara?" It turned its eyes back towards Gaara and licked its lips, marking crawling over Lee's face.

"Shit, what kind of demon did you get?" Naruto blanched, wrinkling his nose at the black markings on Lee's skin and the creepy way he was staring at Gaara.

"It's a long story." Gaara frowned and pulled his hand jerkily away. He crossed his arms again and sat back as he addressed the demon. "How well can you cloak yourself? And is it true that you can take down Shukaku's protective spells?"

The demon smirked and held out his hands in front of him in mock surrender at Gaara's recoil. "Hiding myself is an easy enough task. But when I begin breaking down his protective spells and devouring that power, it will be impossible to remain undetected." Lee's eyes hooded as the demon leaned forward conspiratorially. "Shukaku is fast becoming a demon, I hear. When his physical body finally dies, he will be a dark force looking for a host. He will not be as kind as I am to this body."

Gaara frowned and his his brows drew together seriously. "Humans can't become demons. That's not how it works. Demons come from separate realms of existence."

"Not always," Naruto corrected. He tapped his chin and squinted his eyes characteristically in thought. "There are legends about people who have become demons before. It only happens once every few hundred years- if that- but it's not unheard of. Sometimes if a person is possessed, then somehow manages to overcome the demon's power, the two beings sorta merge into one new demon. I think. Sometimes if a sorcerer is fucked up enough in the mind and manages to gain enough power, his intangible body will separate from the physical in a form of demonic energy."

"Where did you learn all that?" Gaara asked doubtfully.

"Been doing some research since I caught my own evil parasite," he replied with a malicious grin and a gesture to his stomach, where Gaara knew his seal was hidden.

"It's a wonder you managed to cage it. The Kyuubi is a powerful and proud one." Lee bared his teeth with the black tendrils writhing sickly over his face. "Its power tastes delicious even with that seal in the way."

The demon turned towards Gaara and smoothed a finger over his cheek. "Nothing is certain about what you're about to do, Master Gaara. But I will fulfill your desire whatever the cost."

Gaara bore the demon's touch with stoic scrutiny. He nodded slowly and his eyes narrowed, accepting whatever consequences may come; he hadn't come all this way to balk at the risk now. "So be it. Let's talk about strategy."

* * *

Some time had passed into the night, but no one was keeping track. It wasn't until their discussion had reached its end and the chill in the air had reached its peak that the small group looked up into the night sky and realized how far the stars had traversed since they'd gathered around their map.

"We're done. I'm going to create a shield for our campsite so we can rest in peace without the wind," Gaara stood and stretched his legs with a satisfied sigh as the blood began to flow again. He turned his head toward the demon. "You can begone now. Allow Lee to return."

"As you wish, Master Gaara." The demon smirked and bowed as Lee's seated body went slack on the ground. The markings retreated from Lee's skin while his eyes dilated back to normal. Lee whipped his hands to the side on reflex to catch himself and shook his head. It didn't help much with the fog in his mind from the demon's recent control.

"How are ya feeling bushybrows?" Naruto held out a flask for Lee. Their strategizing had taken a good portion of the night and the blond sorcerer looked a little worn after their continuous travel. "Is that all of you in there?"

Taking a long drink, Lee flashed Naruto a thumbs up even as his eyes sought out Gaara's. He'd been aware the whole time they were planning, and some of what was involved in the fight had his stomach twisting. It wouldn't matter that they killed Shukaku if they died while doing so, but Gaara seemed bent on pushing them towards that extreme! But it was something Naruto mentioned earlier that had him blurting out, "How were you able to seal your demon?"

"Lee," Gaara said quietly, putting a hand on the smith's shoulder. He glanced across Lee's body, noting briefly the weariness in his frame without mentioning it. He shook his head as he spoke. "That's a personal question-"

"No, it's okay," Naruto shrugged good naturedly and rolled his eyes at Gaara to show he didn't mind. Naruto yawned briefly wide enough to pop his jaw due to the late hour, but answered Lee's question. "Just a year or so after I finished my training and set out on my own, I stumbled across some old seals that had been hidden away by my father. He was a seriously powerful guy, legendary under some of his aliases. As his only kid, I figured any magic he left behind was as good as any inheritance, you know? I couldn't have done it on my own at that time. I used his power when I initially bound the Kyuubi, but I've reinforced a couple things on my own since then."

"And you do not hear it speaking to you? It does not take over your body at will?" Lee sat up straighter and wiped his mouth with his forearm. He could feel the faint sparks of magic coming from Gaara's hand on his shoulder, but he needed to know these things. "I do not understand. Why bind a demon to your own body? Even when we fight Shukaku and he becomes a demon himself, I would not want him possessing me."

"The seal keeps it behind bars. I can draw power from it, but it damn well can't take over my body without permission." Naruto tapped his stomach. "And you should know why we do these things by now, if you've been with Gaara this long."

"It's all about power, Lee. Among sorcerers, the weakest are drained, cast aside, or killed while the stronger thrive. If a demon's power is what makes a person powerful, any sorcerer will take it or die trying." Gaara frowned at the tone in Lee's voice, which sounded like it was bordering on desperate.

It had been rare for Lee to show any signs of discontent with his situation before they'd first set sights on this mission. More often lately however, Gaara would notice looks of weariness or begrudging remarks about the demon from Lee. It was obvious that Lee was dissatisfied with his place by Gaara's side, by the plans he made for the future in the city.

"Power is everything," he murmured, frowning and dropping his hand from Lee's shoulder. He paused in thought, then abruptly stood and turned away. "I'm going for a walk."

Lee's brows furrowed with Gaara leaving the protective circle of their camp and out into the night. "Please do not let the fire die," he said before darting after the redhead.

"Ah fuck it. I'm never traveling with couples again," Naruto grumbled as both men vanished into the border of the desert.


	16. Chapter 16

"Gaara, hold on for a second!" Lee called as he jogged over soft sand. It was hard to get a foothold over the sand mixed in with trees and grass. He finally caught up to the other man when they came to clusters of trees where he grasped Gaara's elbow. "Gaara-" He moved in front of the other and stepped to block his way.

"What do you want?" Gaara didn't bother looking at Lee's face, focusing instead on the curve of his collar bone in the dim light of the moon. Gaara's hands hung limply from his sides, and his expression was unreadable beyond the slight raise of his bare brow.

Lee exhaled heavily and eased his hold on Gaara's arm. His body felt strange, as if the demon's long possession of it had changed it somehow. All that had happened between him and Gaara, and all that hadn't been said weighed down on him on top of that. "You are upset," he said simply, trying to catch Gaara's eyes despite his own feelings.

"So are you." Gaara's voice was flat and factual. He glanced down at Lee's hand on his arm, then shrugged it off and took a small step back.

"Tell me, Lee," Gaara said, his eyes lingering across the collar of Lee's shirt and the small dip of flesh in the hollow of his throat. "If you could be rid of the demon tonight, would you do it? If you had the chance to be a free man again, would you take it? Do you hate being possessed that much?"

Lee's face clouded over, shadows partially covering his eyes. He couldn't read anything on Gaara's face, and his questions sounded like a trap waiting to be sprung. "That is not a fair question," he said with a subdued voice. "You know I would. It was not something I wanted in the first place."

"Of course you would. And then you would go to the city and live happy and peaceful as a smithy, without complications like me in your life." Gaara's fingers flexed. Overhead, a thin and distant cloud slid in front of the dim moon, casting darkness in patches across the redhead's face. "I'm not a dimwit, Lee. I'm aware that the demon has been amplifying your attraction toward me. I've even used that factor when I've wanted to get my way."

"What?" Cold settled in his stomach with Lee staring at Gaara and a sick twist in his chest. "What are you saying? My feelings for you have nothing to do with the demon." A knot formed between his brows as he stepped forward and reached for Gaara's hand. "Please tell me that you do not believe that. I never thought of you as a complication." The smith was never good at hiding his emotions, and Gaara's words only amplified the distress he felt.

Gaara pulled his hand out of reach and finally looked up at Lee's face with a scowl, setting his jaw as he spoke. "You would have never touched me for the first time if the demon hadn't been goading you into it. You might have been attracted to me before, but our bond would have never grown if you hadn't gained the demon. We would have been nothing more than acquaintances, only seeing each other when I commissioned you for repairs or sold potions at the market. The demon is the only thing that binds us together, and you hate that connection, don't you? It just weighs you down, holds you back from doing what you want to do."

By now Gaara's breath was coming a fraction sharper. His hands formed fists and he started to turn away. "I need some space. I didn't want you to follow me here."

Lee's lips thinned at the accusations, even if they held a note of truth. "You do not know what I want." He swallowed thickly, hand falling back to his side and his voice an unfamiliar quiet tone. "Even before the demon possessed me, I always thought of you as my friend. It turned into something more when I started living with you. I was mistaken to think you felt the same, but I cannot believe you think that everything we shared was just because of the demon!"

He placed both hands on Gaara's shoulders, hyperaware of the pulse running through his veins and the rustle of trees and sand around them. "Do not turn away from me, please. Do you think I would stay with you if I did not care about you? If the demon is all that is holding me back, I would have gone off to find a way to cast it out a long time ago. It is only because you needed its power that I could still live with it inside me. I cannot even remember a time when you valued me over your quest for power."

Gaara held still for a few seconds, before slowly facing Lee again. This was turning into a conversation he couldn't simply walk away from. He almost wanted to try escaping anyway, shielding himself from the smith and spending the night on his own to center himself and regain the usual unfaltering control that characterized him. Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to walk away.

"You know this quest is important, Lee. Shukaku must die." Gaara's breath wavered briefly and he couldn't bring his eyes to return to Lee's face. His hands came up to hold Lee's wrists. "I would never let the demon take real, total control of you. Even if it meant that I would be stronger if I told the demon to stay in control, you are the person I want to be here with." Gaara's grip tightened. "If I stopped needing power from the demon, what would happen? You wouldn't have a reason to stay anymore."

"Gods, Gaara, what more do you want me to do?" Lee shook his head, bangs brushing over his forehead as he pulled a hand free to slide over his face wearily. "Listen to me when I say I am here because I love you. I took a demon for you because you were my friend, and yes, it was the demon that pushed me to finally pursue you, but that does not mean I would not have done so otherwise! Here I am here traveling with you to kill your former master, even if I do not believe in murder!"

He shook Gaara's shoulder in frustration. "You cannot even look me in the eye right now. Do not tell me it is just the demon making me stay, when you have always shown your willingness to sacrifice me for power every chance you get."

Gaara's eyes shot up in a glare at the small shake. Static electricity crackled dangerously in his hair, and his hands hummed with temperamental power. "You don't know anything. You don't know what power means for someone like me. It means being able to protect what's important to me, being able to save the people I care about without fail, and having the freedom to do whatever I want to in my life, because no one can stop me. You wouldn't understand."

A patch appeared between the clouds above, illuminating the deep emerald of Gaara's eyes unnaturally, adding a blazing air to his demeanor. "Tomorrow when we face Shukaku, I am going to keep his attentions on me throughout the fight. Even if he tries to single you out and stop your attack, I'm going to step in the way, no matter the cost. Is that enough sacrifice for you?"

The grip Gaara had on Lee's arm led a shot of electricity shooting up his limb just as their conversation snowballed. He met Gaara's heated stare with his own, his pupils expanding dangerously. "No, it is not. I do not want either of us to die tomorrow to satisfy your need for revenge. And no, I do not understand. What good is power if you drive away the very people you care about? The only reason no one can stop you is because you isolate yourself and push away anyone who tries to get close."

Lee's nostrils were flaring as his breath quickened. Fighting with Gaara hadn't been his intention when we went after him, but sugarcoating his true feelings would help no one. "I wish you would stop being so selfish for one second and think. The moment Shukaku dies, you will still want more power. You want me with you because the demon is your tool for that. You do not care about me or what I want to achieve, or my feelings for you. You would drop me the moment you found someone who can give you more power, the way you left me to die on the floor like a dog."

"That's not true," Gaara hissed sharply, but his eyes flinched at the reminder of Lee's return with the chimera. The steady, strong sense of calculative calm that the sorcerer tried to always wrap around himself like a shield was cracking. "That- that isn't- fuck."

Gaara scowled and pinched the bridge between his eyes tightly, struggling to rein himself back in. His power was swelling dangerously close to the surface, threatening to lash out in a small fit of anger and frustration, as well as hurt that he would never, ever admit to. "You're my friend, Lee. I can't for the love of God remember why right now, but you are. If I could cast away the demon, I would still be possessive of you and want to drag you along with me. But that's not enough for you, is it? You want me to let you stay in that stupid city for hell-knows how long as an apprentice, when you haven't even seen the rest of the world to compare." Gaara's free hand came up to grip the front of Lee's shirt, his fist tightening enough to make the fabric strain tight against Lee's strong chest. "How can you say that I would cast you aside when I can't stand letting go of you for that?"

Something unwound in Lee with the honesty he could hear in the sorcerer's words and the tight knot on the bridge of his nose. It felt like they hadn't had an open conversation like this since leaving their town. Lee's breath hitched from Gaara's grip on his shirt, his eyes searching Gaara's face. "That is just it. You are my closest friend, more than anyone else. The demon never bothered me as much as it could have because you made living with it bearable." He clenched his teeth, shutting his eyes briefly to collect himself the way Gaara always seemed to do so easily. "But you treat me like I am just a vessel, or someone you can have sex with whenever you want to. You do not listen when I share my dreams with you. You would rather I just fuck you without emotion."

He clasped Gaara's hand on his shirt and pressed it tight against his chest. "I am lonely, Gaara. What else can I do to have you care about me?"

Gaara's brows furrowed and his mouth opened as his mind struggled to find the right words. Frustration made the static in his hair crackle briefly as his eyes moved back and forth between Lee's earnest eyes and their hands over the man's chest.

"I care," he murmured, voice thick. He swallowed, trying to clear the heavy lump in his throat unsuccessfully. "I already do. I... I didn't mean to. I didn't want to- to care about you like this, I just couldn't help it. I just wanted to take care of you and keep control of the demon, but you kept saying things and looking at me." Gaara's eyes rose blindly. "Naruto never even looked at me like you do. It makes me feel things that are powerful, and raw, and dangerous, and I don't like it. I can't control myself when you do this to me and I hate that. I'm supposed to always have control and you keep taking it away from me."

Gaara's fist against Lee's chest and his free hand began to hum distantly. He should have pulled away and calmed himself, reigned in his magic quickly, but instead he found himself pulling closer. He set his jaw in frustration and looked down, breathing thickly.

Magic ran through Lee's body from Gaara's hands, sending a familiar current that brought a shiver up his spine. He wanted more than just knowing that Gaara was similarly burdened about his feelings as he was. But he knew Gaara. They couldn't resolve this while he had his mind dead set on Shukaku.

He exhaled silently and dared to raise Gaara's fist to his lips, murmuring against the skin of his knuckles. "I do not want to push you into anything you do not want... Master Gaara. I did not expect to feel this way about you either." Leaning forward, he clasped the back of Gaara's neck and bowed his head to press his forehead against the sorcerer's trying to meet his gaze again. "When we have killed your former master, would you work whatever is between us with me?"

Gaara shuddered, feeling Lee's body through his magic as the power stretched for the smith with possessive hunger. Lee's heartbeat was just as strong and solid as when the sorcerer had first examined him in the mansion, and Gaara focused on that now. He counted the beats, matched his breaths to Lee's, and could hear the smith's blood rushing in his ears like a living echo. He wanted to grasp Lee, possess him, be in every part of the smith's strong body and soul. Surely feelings like these were too strong? He shouldn't be allowing himself to want this. Not right now, he had too much to achieve in his life without tying himself down to one other person.

Slowly, Gaara rolled his forehead against Lee's in a nod. He licked his dry lips and swallowed with another shudder. "Yes. We'll... work on it, after. Stay here with me for a moment while I calm myself." Gaara shuddered again, and gripped Lee's side with his free hand, just gripping the other while he focused on breath and heart beats.

With Gaara's assent, a faint smile finally tugged on Lee's lips. It was enough to have Gaara promise this to ease the weight in his chest no matter if there were things left unresolved. "I am here," he said, stroking the nape of the redhead's neck and lending his strength and apologies to the connection humming between them.

When they faced Shukaku tomorrow, they could afford no distraction from the quest. Lee vowed to set aside his issues with Gaara until his old master took his last breath.

Gaara almost wanted to keep arguing with Lee, to maintain that intensity and conflicting passion between the two, since it was the first time since they'd begun their journey that he felt this connected to Lee. He knew that was foolish however, and allowed Lee's influence between their bodies to help him relax. The frustration and static in his hair finally wilted just a few moments later, and he was content to feel his face against Lee's with closed eyes.

* * *

The next morning was an early one for the three men. By the time the sunlight had first peered over the edge of the flat desert horizon, they'd already re-packed their camp and prepared for the day ahead. Naruto had even spent some time meditating and collecting sagely power from the natural elements around him while Lee and Gaara dealt with the horses. Lee's gremlin, which had become quite talented at staying out of everyone's way until now, was riding on the smith's shoulder and tugging on his hair. The little creature was obviously spooked by the tension in the air as the men readied themselves for the coming fight. It squeaked nervously each time Lee moved too suddenly and kept pawing at his cheek.

"Do not be nervous, my friend! We will be home before you know it." Lee assured the imp as he finished tying the leather guards on his arms. The demon was awake and watchful behind deceiving soft brown eyes but it had already masked its presence. Glancing over at Gaara, he urged his horse forward and clasped the sorcerer's arm. They would need to stick together for Naruto and Gaara to keep the horses invisible to Shukaku, and that fact alone brought front the reality of their quest. "Are you ready?" he asked in a hushed voice, unconsciously rubbing his thumb over the leather covering Gaara's arm.

"Yes. It's time," Gaara replied simply. He ran his fingers over Lee's briefly without expression. Gaara glanced at the soft tone in Lee's face from the corner of his eye as he shifted in his saddle. He lifted his chin to the imp. "You'll want to leave him with the horses when you and Naruto separate from me on foot. He'll either be in the way or get hurt."

"I added my power to the cloaking barrier," Naruto piped up from Gaara's other side, oblivious to the other's hushed words. "I tried to sense your demon, Lee, but I couldn't find anything, even though I knew what I was looking for. It should work until we're noticed."

Lee nodded at Naruto and flashed a thumbs up. "Alright. We will flank you on the sides until then," he told Gaara as they finally guided their horses towards the desert.

"According to your map, there are only a few hiding places here, but they're far and scarce enough to make him hard to find." Naruto said. "Watch out for false leads. He'll probably use his followers as fucking body barriers and traps." With the warning said, he tucked his mouth guard over his face just as the other two did, their party setting out across the sandy landscape.

* * *

It was hot. The sun had been pounding down on the desert air all day, ruthless and powerful with heat. For the past hour, Gaara had been trudging on foot under the sun. The hot air mere feet away wavered across his vision, and his lashes were heavy above his dry eyes. Sweltering beads of sweat crawled down the back of Gaara's neck and bellow the collar of his thin shirt. All was silent in the heat aside from the sorcerer's lonely footsteps across the rough sand.

Gaara's gaze flickered and his feet stopped as he approached the top of a tall dune. In the edge of his vision he'd seen something shifting, rustling the sand unnaturally. He almost would have thought it was a trick of the heat, if the sweat across his body had not suddenly gone cold with instinct. He paused, then climbed the last few steps to the top of the dune and his eyes widened at what he found.

It was a chasm in the middle of the desert. Jagged edges dropped down to an impossible depth while sand simply flowed down or away from it. Around the hole, bodies littered the sandy ground, half-buried with their skin and muscles rubbed raw by sand until their bones showed. The wind sounded like whispers echoing against the hissing sand.

The only visible way down was a raised platform that spiraled steeply down the hole. With the power throbbing down in the darkness, there was little doubt that this was where Shukaku lay in wait. Lee and Naruto were going around the path Gaara was on, and wouldn't be of help until Shukaku showed himself. Gaara would need to lure his former master out.

Gaara licked his dry lips, sensing the pulse of evil and power so thick in the air. He slowly crossed his arms, a habitual gesture as he focused on being alert and ready for anything. He'd been hiding his presence until now, remaining subtle and undetected until he reached this place. Now though, he was sure that Shukaku could sense him, no matter the barriers he placed. This was his old master's territory.

Taking a deep breath, Gaara opened the field that had been blocking his magic from view. He allowed himself to be seen, for any who tried to taste the power stored deep in his intangible soul, power rich with the chimera's sacrifice and the sources gathered over the years. His power was like a furnace that had suddenly been lit in the center of an endless void of darkness. Gaara's hearing perked, and over the rustling of the sand in the wind he could hear the slow, clipping steps of Shukaku as the old man rose up along the platform steps.

Shukaku had aged drastically since Gaara last saw him. Bald, shriveled with a darkness in his eyes that twisted his features, the sorcerer nudged aside the few bodies littering his path until they fell into the chasm. "Finally, you're here. I've been waiting long enough," he said, his voice surprisingly strong despite his body's appearance. Sand billowed against Shukaku's robes and seemed to follow the bony curves of his wrists and fingers.

He stepped on a skull with a huff of contempt. He didn't seem to care that Gaara was there with murderous intent, instead treating him like this was just another lecture. "These fools tried to give themselves worth by being my followers, but they forgot in the end that their desires came at a price. Now they're part of something greater, just as I always taught you to aim for."

Gaara's eyes flickered across his old master's decrepit body, conveying no emotion or thought as he remained on his guard. His arms were tight across his chest. "Yes, they have definitely contributed to something large and powerful. But your power is corrupt; you cannot contain it any longer. You will die soon, Shukaku." He tilted his head pointedly in gesture toward Shukaku's pathetic, shriveled frame. "Your body is decaying."

Gaara didn't pause, didn't hesitate before flaring a rush of consuming, fiery energy. He enveloped the old sorcerer in it, attempting to burn his body and dissolve anything left. It was not the most powerful attack possible, but it was formidable nonetheless. It was a test, and they both knew it.

Shukaku didn't even bother dodging it, letting the fires singe his clothes indifferently until a wave of sand rose up and absorbed the flames with each grain glittering hot. The old man began to step towards Gaara, cocking his head at his old pupil. "Enough tricks. You've come all this way to kill me, but the force you've gathered is no less corrupt as mine.

"Do you know what I trained you for?" Shukaku's hands raised simultaneously. The very sand under Gaara's feet began to slither and move. Around them, the dunes were rising higher and higher, arching up into a cracked dome. "You were to be my successor until the day you gained morals. It was a mistake to let you learn from the sage's boy. Your potential is still there, but maybe you would do better as another sacrifice."

Gaara recognized the insatiable, vile hunger in Shukaku's black eyes as the old man stepped closer. "You would never have let me succeed you. You never planned to die. What power is there for you to pass on when you can never let it go to begin with?"

The words were almost spoken to himself, because Gaara knew that Shukaku was already beyond talking to. He unfolded his arms and raised them, gathering his own power in a blaze of static electricity. Seemingly appearing from thin air, Naruto became visible along the chasm's edge several paces behind Shukaku. The blonde gave a shout with the rush of battle and swirling spikes of energy gathered around his palm, which he raised and threw at Shukaku with a running start. Gaara could feel Lee not far off as well. The redhead added his power to Naruto's and aimed for his old master's crooked heart.

Shukaku was old, but his magic was honed from the dark energies that flowed through him. Sand swept in to guard his body, but part of Naruto and Gaara's joint attack slipped through the mass, leaving cracks in Shukaku's armor. The sorcerer sent erupting waves of sand and magic from both hands, whirling as the ground beneath their feet began to shake.

In a flash, Lee was in the fray, eyes dark and a strange glint in his smile as he weaved between Gaara and Naruto. The demon's presence brought a roar in the air and a darkening aura around Shukaku's withered frame. Twisted faces were appearing around the old man, a menagerie of claws and scales and horns that wrapped around him like a cloak.

Sand swirled and raked at Naruto's robes until they caught his leg and began to claw up the sage. Lee darted in with sharp tentacles severing the hold, barely looking at the blond man before leaping away again.

Gaara stepped forward, casting curse after spell after curse upon the old man and his armor, trying to break through and leave him vulnerable. Naruto's strikes weren't as fast, but each was incredibly powerful as it wailed against Shukaku's barriers, leaving behind a residual ringing sound with each clash against the swirling, screaming sand. Gaara unlatched the gourd from his shoulders and let it fall beside him with a thump that was almost unheard over the commotion of the fight.

Raising his hands and beginning to sign in front of him with quick, practiced fingers, Gaara chanted in a low voice. His stomach twisted in disgust as he watched his old master's power growing and twisting, roiling with decay as he fought. So many souls had been consumed by this man, so many evils risen, and so much innocent blood shed. Gaara chanted quicker, raising his voice though the roar. He could feel something in the sand around him trying to cut him down, but he held it at bay as the cork on his gourd popped loose. A low swipe of sand blades like claws tore at his face, but he focused on his spell. Cuts appeared above his temple, but he knew it was superficial wounds and let the blood fall without pause.

Shukaku's head whipped towards Gaara at the chanting. The attacks that had been keeping Lee and Naruto at bay now began to focus all their attention in destroying the sorcerer and the gourd he'd laid on the ground.

Before Shukaku even had time to react, a spike of blue light hit him square on the back from behind, Naruto grinning tightly behind him with his eyes narrowed into slits. It almost looked like he had fangs for a moment.

Lee was not far behind, sinking the sharp black tendrils through the thick mass of demonic energy surrounding the old man. Marks crawled on his skin, erupting into more tendrils until only the skin around his eyes still bore his tanned color. Shukaku roared with the echo of a thousand demons as the demon inside Lee began to feed.

The sand around Shukaku suddenly loosened into a whirlpool of rusted grains, bones emerging from the ground only to be scraped to dust. The sand sucked on their legs while Shukaku's eyes rolled back into his head and his body trembled against the onslaught.

Gaara's hands were beginning to shake, but he still continued to sign and chant. Shukaku's power bore down on him, heavy even as he was weakened by Lee and Naruto's attack. The skeletal hand of one of Shukaku's dead followers reached up from the depths of sand and tore its jagged bone-tips down Gaara's leg, forcing him to one knee before the hand crumbled and blew away. The sorcerer didn't stop chanting, his eyes growing progressively wider as the words of power and sealing rose and tore from his body.

"Almost there, Gaara, keep going!" Naruto shouted.

The gourd was shaking violently and pain was forming in the redhead's temples, but Gaara could finally feel the first leaks of Shukaku's spirit being coaxed into the gourd's narrow opening.

Just in time, the demon sucking on Shukaku's protective wards finally broke the last of them, causing the old man's body to wither and disintegrate with the sand along with whatever trace of humanity he'd had left. But while his physical body was gone, the malevolent mass of Shukaku's spirit struggled against Gaara's spell. Inside the mass, two bright eyes opened, as black as Lee's eyes were, but with a sickly yellow starburst for gleamed with intelligence as it was pulled towards the gourd, laughing at Gaara despite what was happening to it.

Lee's tentacles were still connected to the black mass, and the demonic aura around him was thick and bloated with those it had devoured. The smith's boots dug against the sand as he was pulled along with Shukaku's spirit, the demon inside of him still gnawing on the rich source of power.

Naruto appeared beside Gaara and added his power to the sorcerer's. The Kyuubi's fire lashed around Shukaku and reeled him towards the gourd. "Got'cha," he growled, shutting one eye tight against the sand scraping against their bodies.

Their joint efforts finally brought Shukaku to the lip of the gourd, his spirit forced into the shuddering vessel. "You are just like me. One day, you will face a similar fate," he whispered, echoed by the violent wind as it was sucked down into the gourd with him.

With a snap, Lee's demon pulled off its tentacles from Shukaku, and the gourd's cork seal jammed tight against the opening.

Gaara gasped and finally stopped his chant, his lungs heaving as the wind began to die and the sand in the air slowly descended and settled on the ground. He put a hand on the gourd and leaned against it, feeling the twisted spirit of Shukaku inside. His old master was trapped, and would remain that way from now on.

"Were either of you hurt?" Gaara rasped, looking up at Naruto and Lee. His temples still throbbed, but relief outweighed that. The sorcerer started to stand, but changed his mind and allowed himself to rest on his knee.

"I'm fine." Naruto grinned and clapped Gaara boisterously on the shoulder. His face was covered in dirt and sweat, making his white teeth stand in the sunlight, which was growing brighter without the sandstorm to filter through. "Fucking exhausted, but not hurt."

Lee's eyes were lidded and dark, and a small crooked smile marred his features. "This body's unhurt with only minor scratches," the demon replied, "His body is more resilient than I thought." The markings on Lee's body seemed to stand out even more with the power absorbed from lesser demons. They didn't glow so much as suck the very light that fell on Lee's body. The demon offered a hand towards Gaara while Naruto casually kicked the side of the gourd.

"Yep, that bastard's not getting out of that any time soon," Naruto declared. "What are you planning to do with him?"

"I'm going to keep him close, at least until I'm sure the seal will hold." Gaara took Lee's hand and slowly pulled himself up. The obvious amount of power that Asmodeus had gained made Gaara feel uneasy, but he was sure the demon had spent a lot, too. When it came right down to it as well, he was grateful that the demon was powerful enough to keep Lee safe, even if the circumstances weren't the best.

"We should get some distance, then I want to bury this gorge." Gaara pulled a small flask from his waistband and took a long drink, then passed it to Lee. "I don't think there's anything dangerous left here, but it would be a good precaution."

Lee took a single drink before passing it back. He stood back slightly, eyes roving across the scratches on Gaara's skin and the ragged strips of his pants where he'd been raked at.

"Yeah, this place gives me the creeps," Naruto said, wiping his sage robes clean of sand and shaking some of the grains out of his hair. "Hey you, the demon inside bushybrows, why don't you go ahead and get the horses? Me and Gaara will take care of this fucker." He clasped Gaara's arm in camaraderie, nudging him in the side with an elbow.

"Master Gaara?" Lee's brows raised in question, though the demon still had that unsettling smile on his face.

"Go ahead." Gaara nodded and glanced sideways at Naruto. "Stay on your toes in case we missed anything."

Once Lee had left, Gaara gave a long sigh and turned to face the great gorge that Shukaku had been hiding in. His old master had sunk so low over time, even more than he could have predicted years ago. He was glad to finally have the mad man under wraps, harmless and sealed away in the gourd. For now, at least.

"I'm glad you and Lee weren't hurt." Gaara wiped a long trail of blood that had been crawling down the side of his face. Except for the wounds on his leg, the scratches were shallow and more annoying than painful. The blood made them look worse than they felt.

"Heh, that old geezer never stood a chance against us," Naruto said haughtily while he glanced over the edge of the gorge. The hole must have held countless victims and willing sacrifices for Shukaku's cause. And though Naruto kept silent about it, the hair on the back of his neck rose knowing that any sorcerer could end up like Shukaku in their quest for power. "Let's bury this fucking hole in the ground and leave."

He shot a brief current of healing power through his body to eject the sand particles residing in his wounds, then touched Gaara's arm to heal his friend. Together, they worked to disperse the tainted magic lingering inside the gorge, and cleared the place of spirits. Once all trace of Shukaku's deeds were gone, they filled the gorge with sand from the nearby dunes until all that was left were uneven splotches of sand.

Wiping his forehead, Naruto wrapped his cloth over his head and mouth again in preparation for their trip back to camp. Turning to the other sorcerer, he tilted his head in question. "What are you going to do now that he's dead?"

"His body is dead," Gaara corrected, hoisting the gourd onto his back and strapping it into place. He pulled a cloth over his head and around his face as Naruto did. "His spirit is still alive. I'm going to drain him in small increments if I can, though his power might be too twisted for me to absorb. If nothing else, I'm going to keep an eye on him."

Gaara paused as he was tucking the edge of the cloth into his neckline, then glanced at his friend with a sardonic twist of his lip. "Oh," he said. "You meant what am I going to do with my life? Not just Shukaku."

"Bastard, now I'll have nightmares of you leeching off Shukaku's spirit and getting sand powers." Naruto snorted, "So what'll you do? Go off on another quest? Take an apprentice?" He shook his head as they walked over the hot sand. It was calmer now with Shukaku sealed away, but the sun was no less harsh especially after a tiring battle.

"I can't imagine you teaching some idiot novice." He faced his friend. "Or settling down with anyone at this time."

Gaara kept his eyes on the stretch of sand ahead, but he could feel Naruto's eyes on him. He shook his head slowly. "No... there won't be any settling down. I don't plan on it, anyway."

Gaara frowned and sighed, rubbing his chest under the gourd strap. "I think I've grown too attached to Lee. He has more sway over my life than anyone else has before. He told me about an apprenticeship position in a smithy for him, and I became unreasonably possessive of him. Now he wants more from me."

"Damn right you have. You've never been upset enough to 'take a walk' before, or let anyone take advantage of you when you're sleeping. Oh wait, there was that time you did. After punching me." Naruto snickered but quelled it at the disturbed look on Gaara's face. "What exactly does he want from you? Because I can see how sickeningly attached he is to you too."

"I think he wants something real between us." Gaara's lips twisted, showing his discomfort. "I don't know what to call him sometimes. Friend, lover, partner, and I think that's part of the problem. It's complicated. I don't want to be tied down, but I feel like there's an anchor in his body keeping me close to him."

Gaara sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, wiping away the sweat from the desert sun. "I agreed to work on... whatever we decide to do, after our quest was over. Now I don't know what to do with myself."

Naruto frowned at Gaara, not used to the redhead's confusion. With Gaara, his decisions were usually clear cut and always the choice that benefited him the most. "It looks to me that whatever's between you is already real. But take it from me. If you don't feel the same way he does, and if you two can't reach a compromise, break it off before you get in too deep."

He slapped Gaara's back in sympathy. "Bushybrows is a good guy. I don't think he'll force you into anything you don't want to do."

Gaara nodded, allowing a smirk for his friend's support. He elbowed Naruto in return for the slap on the back, and turned his eyes back to the sandy ground ahead.


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: Just one more chapter after this, guys. There's eighteen in total. Thanks again for reading!**

* * *

"Well, you did a good job of keeping the place clean," Gaara announced to the gremlins that gathered to greet him. He walked across the mansion's entry to the stairs, trailing a finger over the banister for inspection. He nodded in approval. "Last time I took a trip, you never bothered to dust anything. I'll come up with a treat for you all in the tower once I'm settled."

Some of the gremlins chattered to each other, pleased with their success. Others rushed to grab the sorcerer's packs to haul up to the bedroom.

"Here you go! Home safe and sound!" Lee set the little gremlin that had traveled with them on the end table near the stairs. He grinned at the welcoming committee as his own packs were taken and brought to his room. The gourd on Gaara's back however, was left alone.

The mansion was a welcome sight after months of traveling. With Shukaku's physical death and capture, they'd made their trip back to their hometown with Naruto parting from their group to head on north. Their success lifted the burden on everyone, and let them simply enjoy the travel back to their town.

"Master Gaara, what do you want for dinner? I will start making something when I have settled in," Lee called up, finding the title strange on his tongue with the realization that he'd stopped using it half-way through the trip back.

Gaara noticed the difference, too, and his brows furrowed as he turned to Lee. He shook his head. "I can help you cook. We can just use whatever hasn't perished since we left. There should be some vegetables in jars, and possibly noodles that we can put into a soup."

The sorcerer looked down at the back of his nails casually, inspecting his cuticles. "And... just call me Gaara. You never get my title right anyway. I gave up correcting you weeks ago."

Lee's eyes blinked wide before a smile grew on his face and he gave a thumbs up. His expression lightened up under the layer of dust from the roads. "Alright, Gaara! Change into something comfortable! I will be in the kitchen in a few minutes." On an impulse, he reached forward and gave Gaara a one-armed hug then headed off to his room.

With Shukaku out of their minds and Gaara's quest done, Lee was becoming more and more like himself again with the promise they made on his mind.

Gaara still felt confused about his connection with Lee, but he couldn't deny how much easier it was for him to breathe now. Shukaku was taken care of, they were home together in the place they'd developed their feelings and harnessed their bond, and even being surrounded by the familiar little gremlins was helping Gaara relax a tad. A lot of the tension that had been weighing him down was gone now, or at least severely weakened. The sorcerer walked up the stairs and down the halls to his bedroom, where he changed and washed his face with relief.

Downstairs and in the kitchen not much later, Gaara began pulling things down from the cupboards. He sorted through anything that looked edible and put it into a pile.

Lee's familiar cheerful voice echoed in the hall outside until the smith entered the kitchen. He had a couple of the gremlins hanging from his elbows and shoulders. Apparently the little gremlin that had joined their travels had been boasting about it, and now they all wanted on. "We just arrived today! We are not leaving anytime again soon." He shook off some of the gremlins at the counter and escaped to Gaara's side.

He clasped the sorcerer's shoulders warmly and kissed the sensitive nape of his neck. "So much food! Are we preparing a feast?" he teased as he rolled up the sleeves of his cotton shirt and washed at the sink. "I am very happy to cook with you. This is the first time I will see you brew something that is not a spell or potion."

"Hn..." Gaara's breath thickened at the kiss, though he kept his eyes on the jars, reading the scribbled labels in both Lee's handwriting and his. "Cooking and brewing magic isn't much different, when it comes to the basic mechanics of things. I'm just sorting through the ingredients first, for the moment."

Gaara lifted a glass jar of what looked like dry beans, nodded to himself, and pulled out a tall metal pot. He summoned water from the property's well, and lit the stove beneath it. He overturned a few jars into the pot, and grabbed a wooden spoon to mix it all with.

"I don't know how this is going to taste, so we should probably throw in a couple spices. Maybe salt. I like salt." Gaara turned and leaned back against the cupboards as the stew simmered. He crossed his arms and glanced at Lee in thought. "Where did you learn to cook, Lee? You know a lot of recipes, but most of the village men prefer to let woman handle the kitchen. They don't know how to make more than meat on a skillet."

Humming in approval of Gaara's choice of ingredients, Lee pulled out a wooden slab and a knife he'd forged himself. He began chopping additional vegetables and root crops with an experienced hand. "I grew up in an all male household my whole life. My mother died when I was very young, and with my father busy with the smithy, I had to learn cooking and such things from our neighbors and the townswomen at market," he said, throwing in the chopped bits and adding spices. He raised a brow at Gaara with a sly smile."Actually, if I did not learn these things, we would have lived on burnt meat cooked in the forge, and worn the same clothes weeks on without washing them."

Placing the lid on the pot, he pressed both hands against the counter on either side of Gaara and boxed him between his muscled arms. "I told you that I lived with my uncle for a while after my father died, right? There just was never any women to do those things."

"Yes, I remember now." Gaara looked down from Lee's face, examining the thick stretch of muscled pectorals and the sinew of Lee's shoulders. With their close proximity, Gaara could smell Lee's personal, musky scent like a pleasing cologne.

"I had to do all those things, too, when I was young." Gaara slowly uncrossed an arm and spread his fingers over the center of Lee's chest, casually as he spoke. He examined the ridges of fabric in Lee's shirt, dragging his fingers over the threads. "During my first years of study under Shukaku, he made me work with my hands before he would ever teach me magic. I had to wash and cook, and clean up after his spells. I even learned some practical medicine, since he refused to help me after I burned myself on his spilt potions." Gaara glanced at the dormant gourd that was propped up in the corner of the kitchen, then turned his attention back to Lee's chest.

Lee shivered at the spark of magic that accompanied Gaara's touch. He grinned at the redhead and ran his fingers along his back. Every time Gaara talked about his past, he felt like the sorcerer trusted him more and more. They hadn't had the chance to just sit down and talk for a long time, so this was a welcome opportunity to clear up some of the blanks Lee had on Gaara's past. "How did you become his apprentice? I know you grew up learning from him and met Naruto during that time, but did you have any family before studying under him?"

"I had an older brother and sister. I was the youngest." Gaara slid his hand up along Lee's collar and neck, then through his hair briefly. He played with Lee's bowl cut for a moment, combing it into disorder with his fingers and then brushing it back into place. He kept his eyes on Lee's hair, not his face. "Shukaku passed through my town when I was a child. I don't remember how old I was. Five or six years, maybe. He recognized talent for magic in me. My father traded me to Shukaku, though I don't remember what he got in return. Something about good fortune for the clan."

Shaking his head to brush away the stay bangs on his face, Lee hummed quietly as he mulled over Gaara's words. The pot simmered beside them with the kitchen starting to smell like the spices they'd thrown in, and filled the background with a homey bubbling noise. "Was it worth learning magic from him?" he asked, slowly kneading Gaara's back through the light clothes he wore. "You are so passionate about your craft now, and I can see how much you love being able to use magic. I always have."

"I've never asked myself that question." Gaara's brows furrowed once, before he leaned forward and let his forehead rest against Lee's shoulder for a short moment. The strong fingers across his back felt good, helping him relax and making him feel warm. He paused and let himself enjoy the feeling for a short while, then turned away and moved in front of the stove to lift the pot lid and stir the stew. "I suppose it was worth it. I couldn't imagine my life turning out any other way."

The sorcerer blinked seriously down at the slowly bubbling stew, watching small pieces of vegetable rise to the surface or go missing as they sank back down again. He pushed a piece of potato to the bottom of the pot with his stirring spoon. "Do you still plan on taking that apprenticeship?"

Lee admired the steady look of concentration Gaara had over the pot of stew, until the sorcerer breached a topic they'd both been avoiding during the trip back. He sighed and stood behind Gaara, hands resting on his shoulders and Lee pressing his lips against Gaara's hair. "I want to. If not with Master Jordin, then with other blacksmiths I could learn from," he said, swallowing the sudden lump in his throat. "We should take the pot off the fire before the vegetables are overcooked."

Reaching out, he placed his hand over Gaara's stirring hand. "Will you be mad if I did? Even if I came back after my apprenticeship ends?" They were just enjoying each other's company moments ago that Lee wasn't prepared to sort the mess of his desire for an apprenticeship, and Gaara's unspoken reply to his feelings. He didn't want another fight like the one they had near the desert.

"... No. I won't be mad." Gaara gripped the spoon a little tighter under Lee's hand and resisted the urge to lean back against the smith behind him. He slipped his free hand down along the pot and banished the flames with a small flick of his fingers. "If you want to learn more about your craft, I'm not going to stop you."

Gaara set the spoon down on the counter with a decisive click. "I've been thinking about resuming my old travels for a while, paying back some old debts. It might be a good idea for us to get some distance from each other."

The sense of loss was unexpected, almost like Lee would have wanted Gaara to be mad about this instead. He let go of the sorcerer's hand and began to gather bowls and spoons for them. "Maybe...maybe it is. That way, no one gets left behind, right? My apprenticeship will not take more than a year or two." Brows arched in silent turmoil, he glanced at the other man's face, trying to decipher his expression. The sorcerer hadn't met his eyes since he came into the kitchen.

With Gaara still looking down at the pot, he exhaled through his nose and began scooping out the tasty brew they'd made. "Gaara, I want to hone my craft, but not at the expense of you. I still want to be with you and if you ask it of me, I will postpone my trip." He set both bowls to the side and gently caught Gaara's hand again. "But please tell me if I am just fooling myself by loving you."

Gaara looked down at Lee's hand on his blankly, then pursed his lips with thought. He shook his head slowly. "No... no you're not. I've been too indecisive about this, and it's been going against my nature. It's time I saw this through." Gaara turned his hand upward to grip Lee's in return. "You should take the apprenticeship, and I'll check in on you when I can. When you're done, we can decide where we want to go from there, whether it's back to this mansion or somewhere else together."

Turning sharply, the sorcerer lifted his hands and grasped Lee's face possessively. Gaara leaned upward and captured his lips. The small hint of stubble under his hands as he held Lee's face, the light smell of sweat from Lee's skin, and even the smith's irritating height as Gaara pulled Lee's face to where he could reach- the sorcerer coveted it greedily. He growled "If you change your mind about loving me while we're apart, I'll curse you and make you too clumsy to hold a hammer ever again."

"Never." Lee's eyes were wide and his hands had wrapped around Gaara's waist instinctively. The bewildered look on his face broke with a silly grin, and a bright laugh. "That would be losing two loves in one. Gods above Gaara, I love you!" Hoisting Gaara into his arms, he spun him around with abandon, nearly knocking the pot as he settled him on the counter and pressed excited kisses on his face.

"I will take that apprenticeship and learn everything I can! I promise to work hard and earn enough status that you would be proud of me," he declared, unable to contain the trembling in his chest that was part excitement and part relief. Even if Gaara didn't speak of his feelings straight out, he knew the sorcerer enough that he meant what he said.

Gaara smirked and pushed Lee's attacking lips away from his face. Lee was always overenthusiastic when he was happy, but for once Gaara wasn't exasperated with him. This plan had been forming tentatively in Gaara's mind for a short while now, but seeing Lee's face after he'd said it out loud had solidified it for him. All the evasion, tension, and confusion that had been between them was gone now. It was just the raw strength that was left of their bond now.

"I wish I could take back the things I did that hurt you," Gaara murmured, in a voice much more subdued than Lee's, but almost as earnest. "But all I can do is promise I won't let it happen again. I care about you too much now."

"That is in the past now, forgiven and forgotten. Please forgive me for also pressuring you on this over and over." Lee brushed Gaara's bangs back from his face. Eyes lidding, his grin eased into a more natural smile. He had to wonder if the sorcerer ever noticed how lovesick his grins ended up when Gaara was around. Or that he never got his title right because he loved the little knot between the man's brows whenever he corrected him.

His eyes curved into happy slits as he gave the sorcerer a thumbs up. "Yosh! Let us look forward to a youthful future together filled with passion and adventure! Starting with the soup of our joint efforts!"

"Agreed." Gaara smirked at Lee's extended thumb, and scooted down from where Lee had set him on the counter. He touched Lee's waist in a small gesture of affection and fetched his own bowl, stirring in an extra dash of salt.


	18. Chapter 18 (Final)

As Gaara walked down one of the the city's side streets, he ignored the odd looks from a handful of passersby. Over the past two years or so, he'd discovered that the only way to be completely sure that Shukaku didn't escape the gourd was to always keep it nearby. He'd gotten used to having it strapped to his back wherever he went, but even in this particular city- which was somewhat desensitized to sorcerers and oddness- he still got the occasional raised brow.

In this moment however, everyone else might have been miles and miles away for all the attention that Gaara would afford them. He was on his way to meet someone he'd been apart from for a long time. Toward the end of the street, he turned and opened the door to a smithy.

A burst of familiar heat filled the iron-clad smithy. The reception had a single stone bench and a counter on which a variety of intricate weapons and, surprisingly, staves were displayed. Hanging on the walls were samples of various crafts that were grades higher than those ever seen back in their town and made of materials that ranged from sturdy ores to rare orichalcum and moonsilver that only the magically-inclined would ever use.

But the strangest thing of all was the permeating presence of magic that lingered in the smithy, both warm and chilling at the same time.

The first thing that hit Gaara when he stepped inside was a horde of tiny gremlins that swarmed around him from shelves and tiny balconies fixed on the walls. They squeaked at him excitedly in welcome before the second thing came- a spark of magic that ricocheted off the iron walls until they exploded into tiny sparks upon contact with the magic surrounding Gaara.

"Sorry! That was my fault!" A tall man emerged from the back of the smithy with a leather apron on and a shining halberd held between tongs. The sheepish look on Lee's face vanished when he saw who it was.

"I see you've advanced from turning trees strange colors." Gaara waved a few lingering sparks away from his face, and patted a gremlin absently on the head as it squabbled at him. The sorcerer glanced around, then smiled at Lee in mute excitement. "Hello, Lee."

Torn between the urge to run towards Gaara, and the still-soft metal he held between his tongs, Lee drew from the demon inside him and froze the tongs in the air. In a second, he'd wrapped his arms tight around Gaara and had buried his face in the other man's hair with tears of joy threatening to spill down his cheeks. The gremlins surrounding the sorcerer protested as they ran away from the smith's crushing steps. "Gaara Gaara Gaara-" he breathed.

He pulled back just enough to cup the sorcerer's face and look him from head to toe, drinking in the sight of him. Two years had been too long with only the sand eyeball Gaara conjured from time to time as their means of communication. "Wow, you have grown an inch taller than when I last saw you!" he blurted out.

"Thank you for noticing," Gaara replied with a sarcastic hint of remnant envy as he clutched back at Lee. The smith felt different pressed against Gaara's body, the sorcerer noticed immediately. The underlying paths of magic in Lee's body were much more developed now, and Asmodeus' dominance was severely toned down. The demon was still strong from the results of their quest two years ago, but now Lee had much more control. Gaara inhaled deeply, noticing the new electric hint of magic in Lee's familiar scent. "I tried to recreate the potion you stole over two years ago, but the effects weren't nearly as great this time around."

Gaara wrapped his arms around Lee's shoulders and pulled him down, catching the smith's lips and worshipping them with his own. He pulled back and wrinkled his nose. "You taste like soot."

Lee laughed and kissed Gaara's temple good naturedly, a flush growing on his cheeks and a happy ache rumbling in his chest from the kiss. "You look great too. I see you still love wearing leather," he teased, noticing the gourd on Gaara's back with his eyes but letting it go without comment. "Come inside, I have something for you." Slipping his fingers between Gaara's he led him to the back of the smithy after calling for the gremlins to close up the store for today. The knots of his bandages brushed between their palms as he squeezed Gaara's hand affectionately. His arms were covered with the white cloth from biceps down to the first knuckles of his hands.

It wasn't all that had changed in Lee's appearance. The bowl cut he'd sported had grown down to his shoulders, where he'd braided the end. His bangs were long now, curved around his face with shiny strands fanning out, adding cover to the twisting black marks just visible along his jaw and up his temples.

"You've changed a lot." Gaara followed closely, rubbing his thumb across the back of Lee's hand in his. The sorcerer glanced around as they moved through the store, noting the good quality of the items Lee had for sale and sensing the power inside each of them. "It took me a little while to find you after you first left Jordin's apprenticeship and moved into this city. I see why you came, though. Working with magic in your craft is a much better use of your talents."

"Not that much," Lee said with a smile, looking back at Gaara fondly. "I had to leave the city a few months back. The seal you put on Asmodeus weakened in time, but instead of taking over me, parts of him and parts of my spirit are now co-existing. On the bright side, it is with his power that I have gained a better grasp on magic." Without giving further explanation on how he'd come to know the demon's name or his calm acceptance, he led them past the roaring furnace to an inner bedroom where the heat was suddenly dispersed and a cool breeze blew from an unseen source.

It was clean and simple, just as Lee had always kept his home in the mansion. "I have done my best to perfect it, but I can adjust it for you. I hope you like it," he was saying as he let go of Gaara's hand and stood beside something covered with cloth. With an exaggerated flourish, he pulled off the cloth to unveil a mounted armor composed of a horned helm, a pauldron with a drake claw arm guard, and a breastplate that was meant to be worn with something underneath for decency's sake. The metal used was black, with a purple finish where light hit it. It practically glowed with magic.

Gaara's eyes widened significantly in surprise. He blinked a couple times, as if he needed to clear his vision to be sure this was real, then stepped forward with an outstretched hand. "You made this for me...?"

The metal was almost humming with power as Gaara dragged his fingers across it. It felt alive and powerful, like something that needed to be tamed. The sign of the best magic items always laid in the perception that they were something living. Gaara knew that when he wore this, he would feel like he had a partner protecting his back. He trailed his fingers down the breast plate and touched the arm guard, sincerely impressed. "This is amazing. I never would have thought you could learn to make something like this in only two years..."

Lee's chest filled with warmth at the look on Gaara's face. It was worth every moment of tireless mining and haggling for as much starmetal as he could acquire, and the endless hours of careful smelting and forging that had followed. It was his masterpiece to show for what he'd learned, even if the path he'd taken hadn't turned out as smooth as it seemed. "Hard work reaps amazing things- and I had good people who helped me earn my place here. I had not planned on working magic into my craft but you were on my mind when I found out it was possible."

Unlatching the breastplate from the stand, he held it up carefully. The armor hummed under his fingers and seemed to vibrate on contact. "I will tell you everything that happened these past two years, but first! Try it on!" he urged, excited to see how it would look on the sorcerer.

Gaara smiled and nodded. With Lee's help he managed to slip on every piece of the armor, from the breast plate to the arm guard, to the helm. When the last clasp was firmly in place, Gaara took a few steps to test how it felt. Moving was surprisingly easy, and the weight of the armor was less than he would have guessed. He turned his head to and fro, and flexed the dragon claw on his arm.

"Thank you, Lee." Gaara turned to the smith and spread his arms. "What do you think?"

Lee's cheeks were warm as Gaara modeled the armor. It was surprisingly fit to his build with just a few alterations needed on the helm, outlining the other man's form and giving him a dangerous edge. He ducked his head and rubbed the back of his neck, soot smearing on his skin. "Hnnn...Perfect. You look like you can throw fireballs at me at any moment. " He cleared his throat and admired Gaara's form with a flicker of jet black eyes, before his pupils contracted again.

Taking Gaara's face between his hands, he gently released a wave of warmth like Gaara had shown him years ago. The armor both conducted and amplified the magic until it wrapped around the sorcerer and hummed wherever the armor touched. He grinned before leaning in and kissing Gaara deeply.

Gaara inhaled quickly with surprise, then sighed in languid delight at the gentle warmth inside his body. He felt sensual, with a tingling weightlessness in his muscles. Wearing this armor in battle would make him fierce and powerful, because he would be constantly reminded of who he was fighting to return to. Lee had come so far since they'd last seen each other... this had been the right thing to do, for both of them.

The sorcerer wrapped his arms tightly around his lover, holding him close. He pressed back against Lee's kiss, peeking at the smith between his lashes and admiring the passion on Lee's face. Gaara caressed Lee's back and gripped his hip possessively. He'd missed this man.

A soft groan resounded in Lee's throat with the perfect way Gaara fit in his arms. The years apart didn't change his feelings for the sorcerer, even when they'd both had to go their separate ways to get where they were today. Rubbing Gaara's cheek between the helm's sides, he smiled against the man's lips. "I want nothing more than to throw you on the bed and make love to you until dusk," he murmured, his pupils expanding and contracting strangely.

"If you can be patient, I will finish my work in an hour and be yours." He used the same connection between them to make his desires known to his lover, the armor amplifying it.

Gaara shuddered and mirrored Lee's soft groan, tightening his grip on the smith's hip briefly. "It's hard to be patient when you do this to me…" he murmured, already feeling heady and dizzy. "Some things between us don't seem to have changed at all. I can wait. We have some catching up to do."

Gaara abruptly pulled himself away and took a couple steps back, before he lost control of himself. He smiled and raised his arms. "Would you help me remove the armor?"

Lee licked his lips and swallowed with the loss of Gaara's body pressed against his. Breathing out hotly and giving Gaara a grin, he helped him get the armor off and back on the stand; their fingers brushing and a quiet thrill running through them every time their eyes met. It felt just like the first few months they began living together, except there were no doubts or questions between them anymore.

Once the helm was in place, he caught Gaara's waist on his way to the door. "I really missed you," he said, the marks on his skin flickering faintly. "I love you, Sorcerer Gaara." He pressed a chaste kiss on the sensitive nape of Gaara's neck before escaping to the front of the smithy with a grin.

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**AN: Thanks again to everyone who's been reading. :) This ended up being more than the CRACK we'd intended in the beginning, but we loved writing this for you! Please feel free to comment and let Chinesefirethorn and I know what you thought!**


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